SUNDOWN SEES LARGEST POT SEIZURE IN PROVINCE

28 People Arrested In Raid

After a national headline-grabbing marijuana growing operation raid in
the Sundown area early Friday, a local resident pointed out the
massive drug haul has unofficially put her community on the map.

"On Friday when I was quitting work (in Winnipeg) with all the
chartered accountants, I could hear them saying 'Where's Sundown?
Where's Sundown? Where's Sundown?' when they found out about the
news," Jean Levenec described.

Levenec, who is also The Carillon correspondent for Sundown, enlarged
some maps for her co-workers showing the exact location of the tiny
Southeast village.

"After this weekend, there's no doubt in their minds as where Sundown
is...actually, I think everyone knows where Sundown is now," she
exclaimed during an interview Tuesday.

Numerous RCMP units including local, the RCMP Drug Section and the
RCMP Emergency Response Team, took down a massive Asian-run outdoor
marijuana farm just outside the community in the early morning Friday.

It is estimated the officers collected up to 8,000 plants in the drug
bust and seized nearly 3,000 pounds of cropped marijuana found in
numerous buildings on the property. The drugs would have an
approximate street value of $11 million.

The bust is the largest ever made in Manitoba, and the sixth in just
the past two months.

Police arrested 25 men and three women during the raid.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Steve Colwell said officers were able to obtain
the necessary search warrant for the raid after they received
substantial tips about the current use of the property.

Levenec pointed out the goings-on at the property once owned by Paul
and Kathy Verestiuk was suspect almost from the get-go. The
Verestiuks--who owned the property for decades--sold it to farmers who
were obviously not farmers.

"There were animals, livestock you could see grazing, bales of hay,
they were definitely farming, but for whatever reason, they lost the
property. After the (Asian) family moved in, you saw none of that."

However, Levenec said what makes someone stick out as bizarre in a
friendly, warm-hearted area like Sundown is an absolute refusal to
take part in any community fun activities.

"We have winter carnivals, community suppers...they were so obviously
keeping to themselves, we never saw them attend any of these community
events, not one dinner," adding that the neighborly atmosphere is
usually welcomed by area newcomers.

But, she conceded, if concealment is what the people on the property
wanted, they couldn't have picked a better location.

"That was a really good spot to be secretive--it's almost completely
surrounded by a wooded area."

She gives her fellow Sundown residents credit for keeping all their
suspicions about the strange police surveillance vehicles they had
seen in the area to themselves.

"It seems that the raid went off well. Everyone here knew something
was about to happen, but we just let police do their thing--I'm glad
it was a good pot bust."

All 28 people allegedly running the marijuana operation face charges
of production and possession of an illegal substance for the purpose
of trafficking.

Since they have not been formally charged, their names have not been
released.

As for the community of Sundown, Levenec felt her neighbors were
maintaining a good sense of humor at the newfound notoriety they had
nothing to do with.

"At this point, I think most people are finding all the attention
quite amusing."