POLICE SAY POT GUARDED WITH GUNS: ADVISE HIKERS TO BE CAUTIOUS

The recent arrests of people guarding marijuana plantations has
prompted the Surete du Quebec to caution outdoor enthusiasts against
taking a closer look at what's going on. "Avoid approaching these
areas. Leave and contact the police who are prepared to intervene in
these growing areas," said SQ spokesman Const. Louis-Philippe Ruel.

On Tuesday morning SQ officers went to raid a plantation on Robert
Savage Road in South Stukely. Spotted during an aerial operation a
few days earlier, investigators arriving on the scene believed
they'd spotted at least four individuals armed with rifles
and shotguns. The SQ tactical squad was called in.

Michael Mass?, 33, of West Brome was arrested at the scene. A couple
of hours later Garth Larose, 24, of St-Armand was also arrested. The
other two suspects were not caught. Tracking dogs were called in,
but did not manage to track down the presumed guards.

That raid took in 618 mature pot plants, almost ready for harvest.
Combined with other raids in the Memphremagog MRC Tuesday police got
their hands on 3,000 plants.

At the same time Operation Cisaille, the SQ's code name for its
annual anti-marijuana operation, was busy in the Coaticook MRC.
There, several raids netted another 1,900 plants and led to one arrest.

"There were indications in Coaticook that there were armed guards
there too," Ruel said.

On Wednesday another arrest was made during a raid in Abercorn. Sgt.
Pascal Courtemanche, spokesman for the Brome-Missisquoi SQ
detachment, said the individual was being questioned, and it was not
clear if the person was a guard or a gardener.

The marijuana harvest and the subsequent police operations comes at
a time of year when many people are looking to get out into the
woods - hikers, leaf peepers, hunters preparing for the upcoming
seasons and all-terrain vehicle riders. Ruel said these
people should stay away from anything suspicious, opting instead to
go home and call Info Crime (at 1-800-711-1800).

Operation Cisaille will continue its intensive operations in the
coming weeks until shortly after the first frost, which will spell
the end of the 2007 marijuana growing season.