OPP HAUL EARLY HARVEST

What they saw was alarming, and apparently, a little out of
season.

An OPP helicopter swooped down from the skies to deliver a big net of
marijuana to officers on the ground, who loaded the crop into a van
parked at a peaceful sideroad in Severn Township.

"This is what we came home to," a resident who lives in the area said
on Tuesday after witnessing the apparent drug-eradication effort.
"We're like, 'OK, what's going on?'"

OPP couldn't provide any details about the operation nor confirm it on
Tuesday afternoon.

But Sgt. Paul Difonte of the OPP's Central Region noted marijuana
eradication usually takes place in the fall.

"It could be early this year because of the weather," Difonte
noted.

When asked, Difonte ruled out a training exercise.

The husband and wife who spotted the helicopter, an unmarked van and
heavily armed officers requested anonymity out of security concerns
for their young son.

The area is a tight-knit community of farmers where neighbours knock
on doors to take up collections when people die or call each other
when they see an ambulance zoom by.

The couple, who have lived in the area for more than a decade, said
they've heard of at least one other drug bust in the past.

"This is an ongoing thing out there," said the woman, who acknowledged
she was frazzled about the police operation.

Friends have told her, "Don't go wandering off and snooping, and
you'll be fine."

In general, if someone stumbles across a marijuana grow-op, the best
thing to do is leave and call police, Difonte said.

"Don't confront anybody."