POLICE SCORE RECORD BUST AT POT FARM

$11M In Plants, Marijuana Seized, 28 Arrested Over Outdoor
Grow-Op

SUNDOWN -- People figured there was something strange happening on the
farmyard surrounded by a curtain of trees, but even the most
suspicious residents of this tiny hamlet never imagined a marijuana
operation of record proportions.

RCMP uprooted a huge Asian-run outdoor pot farm in southeastern
Manitoba before sunrise yesterday, hauling away thousands of plants
and nearly 3,000 pounds of cropped marijuana with a total estimated
street value of $11 million.

It's the largest RCMP discovery of processed pot in Manitoba history,
said Sgt. Steve Colwell. It is also the sixth pot farm raided by RCMP
in rural Manitoba since Aug. 22.

Police arrested 25 men and three women. They are facing charges of
cultivation and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

All were still in custody at RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg last
night.

Investigators will try to determine if the people arrested are
connected to any of the other outdoor marijuana crops found in recent
weeks in Oak Lake, Arden, Amaranth, Tolstoi, and Richfield -- where
more than 40,000 plants were discovered in total.

Most residents, while not surprised drugs had been found on the
property, were shocked at the magnitude of the operation.

"Wow... I thought there were only a couple of guys on that farm," said
Linda Dooley, who lives just down the road. "I could see a long, white
plastic tent for a few months now.

"Obviously, something was fishy, but I didn't go near the
place.

"It's a good thing it's gone. We don't need that here."

The farm is on a gravel road between Highway 12 and Sundown, about 125
kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

Colwell said officers are still trying to determine what role those
arrested yesterday may have played in the drug operation. He noted
that the weather had turned colder the past few days. "It was an
outdoor grow operation. It may have been a case of wanting to get the
crop off the fields," he said.

But Colwell said he doesn't know what, if any, negative effect frost
would have on the leaves of a marijuana plant and its drug
effectiveness.

Yesterday about 6 a.m., the RCMP drug squad and members of the
emergency response unit swept through the small farmhouse and adjacent
covered buildings.

Several of the people arrested could not speak English, compelling
RCMP to use an interpreter.

One suspect required medical treatment after being cornered by a
police dog.

Residents say unmarked police cars could be seen parked on backroads
in the community for the past few weeks.

"We were hoping something was going down," Dooley said.

Yesterday, two RCMP cruisers blocked access down the gravel road, and
residents heading to Sundown to pick up mail were turned away.

One woman drove a kilometre to see if rumours of the pot farm were
true. "I've very upset about this," she said, on the condition her
name not be used. "I can't believe they had a grow operation. I'm in
disbelief."

She said an Asian family moved into the farmhouse surrounded by trees
about two years ago.

Another resident said there were immediate concerns about their new
neighbours.

"We questioned what they were doing here," she said. "This is cattle
country but they had three cows. And they didn't know how to drive a
tractor."

Colwell said the processed pot confiscated yesterday could be worth up
to $3 million, based on a street price of $1,000 per pound, while the
plants would be worth up to $8 million, based on a per-plant value of
up to $1,000.

He said RCMP are seeing a trend developing in rural
Manitoba.

"More and more, we're seeing outdoor operations... and they are
getting larger and larger," he said.

Law enforcement officials say it's likely that drug operators have
been driven east because of an intensive crackdown in the West.

Police consider British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario the top three
provinces for marijuana grow-ops.

Recent marijuana grow operation seizures in rural Manitoba:

*Aug. 22 -- RCMP find 13,200 marijuana plants worth an estimated
street value of about $13 million on a farm property near Oak Lake. A
46-year-old Scarborough man is charged.

*Sept. 7 -- RCMP seize more than 7,500 marijuana plants growing on a
farm outside the hamlet of Arden. The seizure is worth an estimated
$7.5 million. A 43-year-old man and a 44-year-old man are charged.

*Sept. 13 -- RCMP uncover 4,400 marijuana plants outside Amaranth
worth an estimated $4.4 million. No one has been charged with this
operation.

*Sept. 15 -- Two separate marijuana grow operations are discovered by
RCMP on the same day. Near Tolstoi, officers find more than 10,600
plants, worth an estimated street value of $10.6 million, and charge a
42-year-old Gardenton man. RCMP seize more than 6,000 plants worth $6
million near Ridgeville. No one has been charged with that seizure.

*Oct. 7 -- RCMP find as many as 8,000 marijuana plants, worth up to $8
million, and between 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of marijuana processed and
ready for sale, worth up to $3 million. Police arrest 25 men and three
women.