HALTON COPS SCORE 1,500 POT PLANTS

Chopper found 15 fields

OAKVILLE -- It wasn't quite Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds but Halton Police
did get high with their helicopter this week to bring down $1.5- million
worth of marijuana plants -- some as "large as Christmas trees."

More than 1,500 marijuana plants -- some nearly 4 metres tall -- were found
growing in 15 remote sites during flights Wednesday and Thursday.

"If it wasn't for the chopper, we would never have found these fields," Sgt.
Bruce Mitchell said yesterday.

2 MEN ARRESTED

"We normally average a couple of hundred plants (seized per) year reported
by hikers and farmers ... these (1,500) plants were found over probably less
than two hours' flying time," he said.

Two men allegedly guarding a field of more than 400 plants near Trafalgar
Rd. and Hwy. 401 were arrested.

Halton Police Const. Chris Clarke said the plants, which were found from
north Burlington east to the Georgetown area, were planted in remote areas,
which made them difficult for officers to access.

"We had to wade through water up to our waists. It was like (the movie)
Bridge on the River Kwai," he said.

'BEAUTIFULLY DONE'

One field near Acton was "beautifully done" with each plant in individual
plastic pots and wire mesh and mothballs around their base to keep away
rodents and bugs, Clarke said.

"Some of the plants were as large as Christmas trees, that's how fat they
were," Clarke said.

The plants are being tested to determine their level of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the principle of cannabis.

The helicopter is being shared with Peel and Hamilton-Wentworth police on a
five-month pilot-project basis.

Todd Robert Shea, 24, of Carrick Dr., Hamilton, and Shawn Alexander
Urquhart, 25, of Ambridge Crt., Mississauga, are charged with producing
marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a
dangerous weapon.