SURREY'S GROW-OP-BUSTING TEAM EXPANDS

City Hall Is Stepping Up Its Hunt For Grow-Ops In Surrey.

A five-member team of electrical and fire inspectors, escorted by
police, has been at work for about a year checking city homes with
sky high electrical bills, looking for marijuana grow-ops. In that
time, 353 Surrey homes have been inspected.

According to a report from Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis, the "vast
majority" showed evidence they had been used as grow-ops. The report
also noted 86 per cent of the homes inspected had "significant
electrical problems" leading to disconnections and repair orders.

The team only concerns itself with safety violations under various
city and provincial regulations and does not carry out criminal
investigations, eliminating the need to obtain search warrants in
order to enter the premises.

Occupants of a suspect house are given several days' notice that an
inspection is imminent and generally dismantle their grow-ops
beforehand. City officials believe this will result in a reduction of
illegal horticulture in Surrey.

On Monday, council approved adding six more members to the team, more
than doubling its current size. The province recently brought in new
legislation allowing easier access for municipal governments to B.C.
Hydro records and Surrey officials have identified about 1,600 city
residences with unusually high electrical consumption often related
to grow-ops.

The team estimates about 1,100 of those will require inspections and
more bodies are needed to carry them out. Garis estimated the work
can be completed in seven or eight months.

The city will hire an electrical inspector to add to the team;
several firefighters and police officers will also join its ranks.