MAYOR VOWS TO UNPLUG ELECTRICIANS WHO ARE CAUGHT IN POT PRODUCTION

The sophisticated electrical work found in marijuana grow-ops recently by
Chilliwack RCMP officers has Mayor Clint Hames vowing to go after
professional electricians involved in setting up illegal operations.

"If we can trace this back to somebody who is a licensed electrician, you
bet we're going to go after that," he says.

Last Friday police officers discovered more than 6,000 marijuana plants
growing in three vacant chicken barns on Fairfield Island, one of the
largest in the city's history.

The grow-op was powered by electricity illegally diverted from B.C. Hydro
via bypasses around the meter that measures power consumption. If
professional electricians are involved in setting up illegal bypasses, Mayor
Hames says he believes their licences should be revoked.

"I think we ought to be going after (their) licences," he says. "It's hard
enough to build a safe community without having to fight against people like
this."

Chilliwack RCMP officers tracking a fleeing theft suspect stumbled onto one
of the largest marijuana grow-ops in the city's history early Friday
morning.

Police were called to a construction site near McSween Road on Fairfield
Island where two men were reportedly stealing construction materials.

One suspected was arrested on the scene, but the other took off running and
police dogs were called in to track him down.

The search dogs were also trained to sniff out drugs, and led officers to
one of the three vacant chicken barns. A search warrant was obtained the
next day and the grow-op discovered.

A 42-year-old male and a 50-year-old male were arrested on the property.

The construction site theft suspect, whose flight led police to the grow-op,
was arrested on a neighbouring property shortly after the initial discovery.