POLICE FLYING HIGH TO WEED OUT POT CROP

OSHAWA -- Durham Regional Police took the war on drugs to a higher level and
won a small battle.

Drug squad officers used a chopper -- lent for one day by Canadian
Helicopter Ltd. -- to cruise over Durham and locate 159 marijuana plants
worth $395,000. The crops were seized for destruction and arrests are
pending.

"When you're up in the air, the color of the plant has a strikingly
different shade, almost silvery, which makes it stand out from other crops,"
said Sgt. Jack Dancey, head of Durham's drug enforcement unit.

Police say the marijuana industry is thriving in GTA regions with rural
areas. Durham cops uprooted 680 kilos of pot last year, stripping street
dealers of $13.5 million in potential profit.

Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.

Checked-by: Don Beck