'GREEN TEAM' GETS TOUGH ON POT GROWERS

There's a new crime fighting team in the West Kootenay on the lookout
for pot growers.

On June 15, 1999 the Nelson RCMP "Green Team" hit the road with the
madate of rounding up as many marijuana grow operators in the West
Kootenay as possible. In the past month the two-man reefer-wrecking
crew has kept a pace of one "significant" bust a week, most recently
nabbing a middle aged couple in the Beasley area who had 475 plants in
two indoor grow operations.

"We're here to crack down on the growers and marijuana cultivators,"
said Const. Darren Oelke.

Oelke is joined by Const. Ray Watson on the pilot project which will
run for at least four months. The formation of the Green Team came
about after detachment commanders in the West Kootenay area - Kaslo,
New Denver, Fruitvale, Rossland, Creston, Salmo, Nelson, Grand Forks -
decided enough is enough.

"We've had an outcry from the public and the detachments," explained
Oelke. "There's an over abundance of drug information about growing
of marijuana and detachments have been too busy to dedicate the time
to this area of enforcement.

"The problem has gotten so big and we haven't had the resources so
we've formed this two-man team."

Oelke was pulled from the Nelson Major Crime Unit and Watson was
borrowed from the West Kootenay Highway Patrol. At this point there
is no extra funding for the team, but if it continues past the four
month trial run there could be more dollars coming from the government.

How it works is Oelke and Watson travel around to area detachments
processing search warrants for known grow operations. With the
assistance of other members, the warrant is then executed using Oelke
and Watson as the arresting officers who then spend the time doing the
paperwork and attending court after charges are laid.

Finding enough work in the area has not been a problem.

"We could have six guys going all the time because there is so much
out there," Oelke said. "We're going to get around to as many as we
can. So far since June we've been doing at least one a week and I
think we will continue that."

The RCMP hope the team will be able to put a dent in what is known to
be a world famous area for high quality pot.

"I've heard rumours that in Los Angeles People want Kootenay bud,"
said Oelke who added that detachments across the province report the
seizure of Kootenay pot on a regular basis.

"It's a multi-million dollar industry just in this area and it's a
significant part of our economy."

Because it has become such a big business, Oelke said there has been a
move away from outdoor grow operations to more dependable indoor
grows. It's a trend which has advantages not only for the growers,
but also the police.

"I think a lot of it has been switched to indoor cultivation because
you are growing in an controlled environment. There are still lots of
outdoor operations, but I think it's swinging more to the indoor
operations," said Oelke.

"It's easier for us to actually make physical arrests with the indoor
grows because it's growing on a person's property. With the outdoor
ones it's often difficult to link people to the operation."

With a lot at stake for the growers, Oelke said most of the busts they
make do not consist of rounding up peace-loving, pot-smoking hippies.

"Everybody thinks that these are just the good old harmless pot
growers, but some of these guys have stolen property and weapons in
their possession when we arrest them," Oelke said.

A lot of the Green Team's leads come from members of the public, a
trend Oelke hopes will continue. To report a suspected grow operation
call 354-5165 and ask for Const. Ray Watson or Darren Oelke.