DELTA'S GROWING PAINS

Pot houses triple as cops and Hydro launch bust-binge

Delta's dirty secret is out.

Local cops are alerting the city to its massive marijuana grow-operation
business.

"It's a quiet community, so I guess growers have started coming here because
it's not a place you'd expect to see organized crime," said Const. Darren
Dunn, of the Delta drug squad.

"We're really cracking down on the problem. And the biggest tool we have is
education."

Delta cops watched grow-op busts more than triple last year -- from 35 to 95
operations shut down.

"We're letting people know what's going on out there," said Dunn. "It's not
just a couple of kids setting up plants in their basement -- it's organized
crime that have links to a lot of violence."

Delta cops have tripled their drug unit staff and are making partnerships in
the city and with different police agencies to squash the problem.

Part of the program is a brochure to help neighbours spot drug houses.
Covered windows, no signs of inhabitants, humming noises and the smell of
pot are some clues that a rental house is actually a greenhouse.

"A house like this erodes the whole neighbourhood," said Dunn.

It's not just Delta seeing the boom in busts. From Vancouver to Fort St.
John the crops are growing in basements, trenches and warehouses. Busting a
grow-op is a daily exercise for most police forces.

Vancouver had a record year for shutting down pot growers -- 201 busts for a
combined total that topped $46 million. Surrey, Langley and Coquitlam can't
keep up with the grow-ops they've discovered.

CrimeStoppers -- 669-TIPS -- is the anonymous tip line every police
department encourages snitches to use.

B.C. Hydro has jumped on the snitch wagon too after losing $1.5 million to
power thieves last year.

Grow operations are usually run on stolen power, so the province's utility
is determined to stop the hydro drain through the snitch line and by using
extra staff.

"It's a serious crime and we're taking it seriously," said Wayne Cousins,
B.C. Hydro's spokesman.

"We've increased the staff we use to monitor power diversion. This is
theft -- theft of electricity."

Cousins didn't want to tell readers how to steal power, because he's afraid
more people will do it. If you suspect neighbours are pilfering power call
1-800-BC HYDRO.