NANAIMO TIPSTERS KEEP POT OFF THE STREETS

Nanaimo and District Crime Stoppers was recently recognized for the
biggest marijuana seizure last year, thanks to anonymous tips.

Information received through the program, which allows people to
report anonymous tips, led to $520,000 of marijuana being taken off
the streets throughout 2010.

The award was highlighted at the Crime Stoppers Provincial Training
Conference in Kelowna last week. Several other police detachments have
looked to emulate the high-visibility approach of Nanaimo and District
Crime Stoppers, which RCMP say has proven to be a valuable weapon in
their arsenal in the fight against crime. Crime Stoppers posters are
being planned for transit buses and bar bathrooms.

Last year, the Nanaimo RCMP "Green Team," a group that works
undercover to target growers and their pot crops, searched nearly two
dozen properties and seized thousands of pot plants in a four-month
stint.

Since its inception in 1990, the program has provided police with more
than 3,400 anonymous tips, leading to more than 400 arrests and the
recovery of property and contraband worth millions.