POT GROWERS HIDING OPERATIONS IN UNDERGROUND BUNKERS, POLICE SAY

B.C. pot growers are increasingly turning to sophisticated
underground bunkers to hide their illicit crop from law enforcement agencies.

Staff Sgt. Dave Goddard, of the RCMP's Greater Vancouver Drug
Section, said the bunkers can be high-end with a cement foundation,
wiring and sensors, or less sophisticated like the hidden underground
shipping containers found by police in Mission this week.

"They are doing everything possible to avoid detection and if it
means relocating underground, absolutely -we are seeing much more of
this going on," Goddard said Wednesday. "It has become much more
prevalent not only here on the Lower Mainland, but upcountry as well.
We are also seeing more bunkers in the interior of British Columbia."

Mission RCMP Cpl. Raina Siou said officers were called to assist
firefighters in the 36000-block of Ridgeview Road Monday morning
after a fire broke out in four large shipping containers full of pot
and buried underground.

More than 2,000 plants were located on the acreage, which appears to
be connected to a neighbouring property. Nobody has been charged, but
police are dealing with the owner.

The growers would have needed both a backhoe and a crane to set their
operation up, Siou said.

And they had placed piping to siphon water from a nearby creek and
for their wiring to the bunker.

"It takes a lot of time to set something like that up and check on it
to make sure it is working properly," Siou said. "Out in our rural
areas, especially in Mission, this is a trend. We have seen it before
and I am sure we'll see it again."

She said those working in the bunker would have been at risk.

"They are down there working in this and it is really dangerous. I am
sure they are not wearing little air quality controllers to make sure
the air is safe," she said.

Siou said the RCMP had to bring in a specialist in "confined spaces
training to offer his expertise and knowledge in investigating
bunker-style marijuana grow operations."

"He utilized an air quality control sensor, which is a tool that
reads air quality in confined spaces. The device alerted members that
there was not enough oxygen for personnel in the space to carry on
their investigation," Siou said. "The bunker had to be vented with
air for some time before it was safe for officers to enter."

She said conservation officers were also called in to assess the
impact on the stream that had been diverted for the illicit operation.

Last month, Abbotsford police uncovered an even more sophisticated
bunker with more than 1,750 plants in it.

The grow operation was under a barn and covered with a retractable
concrete floor. Police also found motion sensors and a cache of weapons.

An Abbotsford man and a Mission associate are facing production,
possession and trafficking charges.

Goddard said with high startup costs associated with the larger
operations, organized crime has to be behind them.