B.C. RCMP SEIZE 60,000 POPPY PLANTS IN RECORD HAUL

Chilliwack Crop Intended For Production Of Doda, Police Suspect, A
Drug Popular In The South Asian Community

The ground-up poppy powder called doda was sold openly in some South
Asian stores in British Columbia just two years ago, but now it's the
target of a police crackdown - including what the RCMP are calling
Canada's largest opium poppy bust.

On Monday, Chilliwack RCMP's drug unit discovered a 2.8-hectare field
planted with 60,000 opium poppies, which the Mounties say is the
largest drug seizure of its kind ever known in Canada. Two men, aged
31 and 24, who were tending the field have been arrested, and police
are recommending charges of production and possession of a controlled
substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Police are not saying if the two are the only suspects in the
multimillion-dollar drug scheme.

Corporal Lee-Ann Dunlop of the Chilliwack RCMP said the field has been
growing for approximately three months. "It was clearly being produced
for financial gain," Cpl. Dunlop said on Thursday. Although police are
saying little about the investigation, they say a field of this size
has its roots in organized crime.

Not too long ago, doda could be bought in stores across the Fraser
Valley alongside South Asian goods, said Harry Bains, NDP MLA for
Surrey-Newton. "You could walk into a dozen of local stores and they
would sell it to you. Some even kept it right on the counter," he said.

The drug has been called poor man's opium, referring to its popular
use among taxi and truck drivers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
for boosting alertness.

Although the drug is illegal here and in India, Mr. Bains said it has
become a problem only recently in Canada and police didn't know about
it two years ago. "We brought it to their attention, and to their
credit they took it seriously. They didn't know it was commercially
produced and sold here," said Mr. Bains, who was asked by community
leaders to help stop the spread of doda in B.C.

"We don't want to add another drug onto the drugs that our community
is facing and causing havoc on our streets. ... That is a serous
concern if it starts growing here," Mr. Bains said.

Doda is created by grinding poppy heads into a powder, and is often
mixed with hot water or tea.

Over the past two years, doda seizures have increased across Canada.
In February Calgary police seized 13 kilograms of doda, prompting them
to create a doda task force. A month later, Peel Regional Police in
Ontario seized 1,200 kilograms of doda, which they said had a street
value of $2.5-million.

"We have been aware of doda for quite some time," said Constable
Michael McLaughlin of the RCMP federal drug unit.

The grow-op is described by federal drug enforcement agents as a rare
find in Canada because the climate makes it difficult to grow the
plant. "It's very rare, although it can grow here very well, as we
have seen," Constable McLaughlin said.

The need for intensive labour to harvest it is another reason few
opium operations of this scale are found here, Constable McLaughlin
said. Most doda and opium seized across Canada has been imported. In
January, police discovered 56.8 kilograms of opium concealed in a
tombstone that was being imported from Iran to Vancouver. The bust was
hailed then as the largest opium seizure made in the province.

The two men who were arrested this week have been released pending
their trial in December. A local farmer contracted by police has
destroyed the crop. According to police, the owner of the field was
not involved in the grow operation.