NEW TOOL FOR FIGHTING GROW SHOWS

MARIJUANA: RCMP place restraining orders on pair of Salmo houses
police say were used for growing pot.

Salmo RCMP have placed criminal restraint orders on two houses in the
Salmo area that were found to contain marijuana grow operations.

One of these properties is located on Wildhorse Creek Road in Ymir
and the other south of Salmo Village on Liness Road.

The owners of the houses are facing criminal charges and the issuing
of the restraint orders means the houses cannot be altered or sold
before criminal trials take place.

According to an RCMP release, if the accused parties involved are
found guilty in court, police can make an application to have their
properties - which are worth $200,000 each - forfeited to the federal
government.

The federal government would then most likely sell the properties and
keep the proceeds.

In cases such as these the RCMP also notify the Canada Revenue Agency
of the marijuana growing operations and they can take any action they
deem necessary, including collecting estimated back taxes for the
proceeds of the illegal activity.

Constable Rochette of the Salmo RCMP said he can't give details of
the grow operations because of the pending criminal cases against the
alleged owners.

"The only thing, I can tell you is they were large enough for us to
get a criminal restraint order on them," he said of the bust that
took place on the Labour Day long weekend. "So to get such an order,
you have to prove the house was used mainly for criminal activity."

The orders were put in place after police obtained warrants to search
the property, allegedly found marijuana growing there and then
submitted that evidence to the Supreme Court, Rochette explained.

Once the Supreme Court approves the order, the owners are served with
a notice to appear in court, he said.

"Then it's up to them," Rochette said. "You go to a criminal trial,
if that's what's going to happen from there. Then they can actually
fight the restraining order as well.

"You have to prove that the building was used mainly for criminal
activity. So it's like a commercial venture, basically."

Rochette said this type of prosecution doesn't just apply to homes,
but any personal property related to illegal activity.

"It's not only for grow operations," he said.

"Around here that's mainly what we deal with. But it can be for
anything. You could actually use the same tool for a vehicle and
there's 10 pounds of dope in there. The vehicle was used for
criminal activity and you can request a restraining order on the vehicle."

While this type of prosecution has been used for some time on the
Lower Mainland, Rochette said it's relatively new to the West Kootenay.

But Rochette said that in the future the RCMP plan to use this method
as often as possible.

"Every time we feel we have enough grounds to use that tool, we'll do
it," he said.

Rochette feels they have a good chance of winning when the cases head to court.

"We're pretty confident," he said. "We were able to get the
restraining order, at least. So it obviously shows the two cases are
pretty good."