BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR MARIJUANA GROW OPS

A worn path winds its way into rural farmland. On a secluded, seldom-used
dirt road, a mysterious vehicle sits parked. Someone unfamiliar carries
garden tools out of the forest.

These could all be signs of a marijuana grow operation and as September
approaches, Ontario Provincial Police are asking you to be their eyes and
ears when it comes to flushing out the crime.

"Everything is fully grown and people will be getting ready to harvest it,"
Const. Mark Boileau said, referring to the narcotic-yielding plants which
are usually harvested starting around the middle of next month.

Although the City of Kawartha Lakes detachment's media relations officer
said statistics remain about the same as previous years, the OPP remain
vigilant in cracking down on marijuana grows, be they indoors or out.

In 2005, eradication efforts of the Kawartha Combined Drug Forces Drug Unit
led to the seizure of 12,443 plants valued at over $12 million across its
coverage area, which includes the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Those statistics do not include indoor operations or those found during
regular police activities, Boileau noted.

The drug unit has already uncovered a significant grow operation this year,
finding about $2.5 million in mature plants on a property north of
Bobcaygeon on Kawartha Lakes Road 121 in Galway-Cavendish & Harvey Township
Tuesday morning. Two men were charged.

Officers with the drug unit - which now includes an officer from the local
municipal service - are focusing on drug eradication efforts and using
intelligence gained in the previous months to search out growing
operations, whether on foot or by helicopter flyovers, Boileau said.

That said, you can help out by phoning police if you see any of the many
signs of a illegal activity, he added.

Bags of soil or fertilizer left on a property, perhaps placed near a trail
or gate, fresh trails or fences or gates altered to allow passage, cars
parked in areas at strange hours and stashes of garden tools are all
indicative of the illegal activity, Boileau explained. For example, if
someone suspicious coming out of the bush tells you they were checking
their minnow trap, maybe you shouldn't take their word, he said.

Most importantly, if you do spot something suspicious, you are not to act
on the information yourself, Boileau said, particularly since you don't
know if the operation is being guarded by gun-wielding suspects, which has
been seen locally in the past.

"Don't act on it. You don't know what dangers lie in there. If people have
money invested in a grow operation, you don't know what they can do,"
Boileau said.

Last year, OPP busted several grow operations near Norland. At the end of
September, police seized over $7 million in pot - about 7,000 plants -
between two separate locations bordering swamp land near Head Lake.

Organized crime was cited in the bust of a $3-million drug growing and
processing operation that resulted in 19 individuals being charged in
October of 2004.

In September of 2003, an operation worth an estimated $18 million was
discovered near Coboconk; suspects, police said, impersonated officers in
an attempt to steal the crop for themselves.