GREEN TIDE CARRIES NEW RULES FOR A WALK IN THE WOODS

IEDs, Trip-Wired Shotguns Tools of the Trade for Big Marijuana
Operations

A green tide is moving its way east and it's packing some heavy
heat.

John Chambers, of the special response section of Valley Search and
Rescue based in Waterville, has been training people how to recognize
the hidden, and often explosive dangers around marijuana fields for
the past several years.

In British Columbia and Ontario large-scale grow-ops are often
protected with unseen devices. While the likelihood of stumbling
across a booby-trapped pot field in Nova Scotia is relatively low, the
danger is still very real.

A veteran member of Truro's Ground Search and Rescue, Chambers says he
began teaching people how to recognize a grow-op after a searcher in
Antigonish happened upon a marijuana field and began chopping down
plants. Chambers added the searcher was lucky, as it's not unusual for
pot growers to take some extraordinary measures to protect their
investments.

"I teach people to recognize the signs something isn't right," he
said. "If you miss the signs, you can walk into danger. Everybody has
heard of the dangers of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in
Afghanistan, but what they don't realize is that these things could be
here in our backyards."

IEDs are handmade bombs that are fabricated out of everyday materials.
Trip-wired shotguns attached to nearby trees; or glass bottles filled
with everyday items such as nails, fishhooks, and ball bearings and
ignited with gunpowder are used by the larger grow-ops that are
usually linked to organized crime.

ALL ABOUT MONEY

With so much money to lose, it's not just about scaring off the deer,
or shooing away an occasional hiker. Competing growers will often
sabotage their competition, making it a dangerous game for everyone.

"They take the same security precautions any business owners would
take. This is serious stuff and they don't want people nosing around.
They may be handmade bombs, but do the same job as the other ones.
There are some very talented people out there."

Chambers adds the possibilities are only limited by the bomb-maker's
imagination. Often growers will bait the unsuspecting human by leaving
souvenir items in the vicinity that are tripped wired to an even
bigger surprise.

If you happen across an iPod, or a $20 bill in the forest, it's better
not to touch. This ploy is becoming especially problematic with the
new popularity of geocaching, a high-tech game where participants
employ GPS systems to find hidden treasures.

"The rule is if you didn't drop it, don't pick it up," he said. "If it
looks suspicious, it probably is."

While large-scale marijuana grow-operations like those in British
Columbia are not yet commonplace here, Chambers says it's only a
matter of time before the 'green tide' makes its way from the west
coast to the east.

To date, the largest single marijuana seizure in Nova Scotia took
place in Torbrook in 2005. More than 9,000 plants valuing
approximately $10 million were seized during the raid. Police will
spend hours combing the perimeter of marijuana fields for traps and
IEDs before going in.

He adds that given that one plant can yield as much as $1,500, it's
not hard to see why big time growers would go to extra lengths to
protect their investment.

DANGERS REAL

RCMP Constable Mike Furer agreed that the possible dangers lurking
around marijuana fields are very real, and that police routinely make
careful checks before going into any fields. While it's not common for
local pot growers to use IEDs, he is aware of two Nova Scotian fields
where shotguns were trip-wired in trees.

"We normally find boards with nails sticking up, or razors and fish
hooks embedded in plants," he said. "It's not often that we find guns,
but we're always extremely careful before touching anything."

Const. Furer added that it's easy to recognize a field once you walk
into one, especially given that some of the plants can grow as high as
10 feet tall; and the best rule of thumb is to leave the field the
same way you walked in.

Growers usually choose remote spots in swampy areas, this cuts down on
the number of trips needed to water the plants. Other signs that
something is amiss include spruce trees that have been cut to two-foot
stakes and boughs left strewn across the ground for no apparent reason.

Anyone who comes across a marijuana field, or suspects a grow-op in
the area, can report the information to the nearest RCMP office.

JOHN CHAMBERS specializes in teaching the signs to look for in the
woods to indicate marijuana grow operations are close by and traps,
bombs, or tripwires associated with grow-ops. Police, ground search
and rescue teams, forestry workers, or any other groups that frequent
the forests can contact him at 847-5691.