'BUDBUSTERS' MOVE IN ON POT PLANTATIONS

A seek-and-destroy mission is underway in the Comox Valley to hack
down thousands of illegal pot plants growing in the bush.

The Budbusters - a joint team of police and military staff - have
worked together to locate 460 plantations across Vancouver Island
ranging in size from 50 to 1300 plants.

They are coordinating efforts from the ground and air, using both
trucks and helicopters, and this week homed in on many local sites.

The marijuana plantations are mainly on Crown Land in isolated,
hard-to-reach spots so hikers and others are unlikely to come across
them.

But the distinctive broccoli-like green colour of mature pot plants
stands out from other vegetation when seen from the air

So helicopter crews have been used to log their coordinates, and then
either guide in ground crews armed with machetes and secateurs, or use
long ropes to hoist down crews with cutting gear.

Some of the destroyed plants are left to wither as the bud becomes
useless very quickly, but in other locations the hacked plants are
netted and winched away for incineration.

Because of the warm summer, some plants have proved to be very
healthy, heavily-laden specimens, especially where the illicit
cultivators have carefully tended their crops.

They do that by trekking frequently into the bush, often using buckets
to scoop water from streams to ensure their plants are well watered,
but sometimes even going to the trouble of digging channels to divert
water from nearby creeks.

Fertilizers and soil amendments are often carted into the sites to
encourage growth, with the plastic bags and containers hidden away in
hollow trees or disguised from aerial or ground inspection in some
other way.

Many of the sites were first spotted earlier in the year, but the
police delayed pouncing until the plants were closer to maturity.

That tactic was to keep the growers occupied so they didn't move on to
set up replacement plantations.

On Wednesday the Echo was invited along to witness the destruction of
one plantation close to Wolf Lake, near the base of Mount Washington.

I watched as an RCMP helicopter descended on a stretch of logging road
and then accompanied officers with cutting gear as they set off to
demolish the plantation.

As soon as the task was completed - it took about an hour - the
helicopter was off with its fresh load hanging from a net slung beneath it.

Then the team set off for the next site on the list as two other crews
working from military Sea King helicopters were carrying out similar
tasks around Merville and Black Creek.

RCMP spokesperson Const. Tammy Douglas said the seek-and-destroy
missions had been going on for several years.

So far, the two-week intensive operation had resulted in almost 25,000
plants being cut down with several more sites yet to visit.

She acknowledged they would not find every plantation, but believed
the efforts would make "a real dent" in the drugs market.

"Every plant we cut down stops more illegal marijuana reaching the
streets of our community," she said.

"By destroying them, we are disrupting the flow of funding to
organized crime groups in the province."

Although the police will not put a street value on the haul this year,
a single bushy plant carries enough bud to produce between 100 and 200
joints.

And that means that over the two weeks, the plants destroyed would
likely have contributed to the equivalent of around three million joints.

But the end of the current operation in a few days time will not be
the end of the police drive against marijuana growth.

"We concentrate on these two weeks because the outdoor harvest reaches
its maturity now," said Douglas.

"But we will continue to pursue other grow operations year round."