COPS GO ON TRIAL IN GROW-OP CASE

High-tech snooping by police is at the centre of a defence challenge
to a raid by Calgary cops on a southwest marijuana grow operation.

Defence lawyer Charlie Stewart wants Justice Marsha Erb to rule his
client's rights were violated when police searched his home after
using a digital recording ammeter.

The device, which is placed on a transformer outside the home,
measures electricity used over several days.

Const. Patricia McCallum, who swore information in support of a
search warrant on Daniel James Gomboc's home, used the results to
help get the warrant.

But McCallum told Crown prosecutor Eleanor Funk she had ample
evidence without the electrical testing to justify a raid on Gomboc's home.

Gomboc, 30, faces charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose
of trafficking and cultivation in connection with the Feb. 3, 2004, search.