RCMP SHUT DOWN WEST COAST GROW-OP

Sooke RCMP shut down a marijuana grow-operation in a forested area
about 30 minutes north of Port Renfrew Thursday, destroying almost 900 plants.

Cpl. Scott Hilderley said eight officers from the Sooke detachment,
the federal drug enforcement branch and integrated border enforcement
descended on the operation at about 11 a.m. The plants were growing
on a bluff and buffered by forest on Crown land. A 27-year-old man
found tending to the crop was arrested.

The grow-op was accessed by a logging road and pathway that Hilderley
said could have been traversed by an all-terrain vehicle. It was near
the border between Juan de Fuca Regional District and the Cowichan
Valley Regional District, about 90 minutes west of Sooke.

The bust followed an investigation that spanned only a few days. "We
acted fairly quickly because of the magnitude of it," said Hilderley,
adding the RCMP went in with beefed-up numbers in case the site was
rigged with traps, as has happened with some operations, or guarded.

Grow-operations are a significant concern in the Sooke detachment,
which oversees wide spans of forested area.

"This is one of the largest we've found in the area," Hilderley said.
"From the growers' perspective, that's a sizable hit to their
operation, so they'll probably be canceling their winter travel plans."

The man arrested at the site, whose name has not been released
pending charges, is not known to police. He was released on a promise
to appear in court in November.

Police, who destroyed the plants, are investigating whether others
were involved in the grow-op.