SMALL POTATOES POT GROW-OP RAIDED BY POLICE DRUG UNITS

Police seized a mom-and-pop marijuana grow-op worth more than $6,000
on Friday morning at a Livingston Lake cottage, in the northern region
of Haliburton County.

Members of the Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit discovered 178
marijuana plants along with assorted drug paraphernalia at the
unattended residence. Police say they are aware of the suspect's
identity and expect charges to be forthcoming.

The recent shooting of four RCMP officers in Alberta has brought rural
grow-ops into the national spotlight. But Detective Ernie Garbutt says
it's not the small operations that are of greatest concern.

"We're finding that rural organized crime grow-ops are becoming more
and more prevalent," says Garbutt, who works in the drug unit.

The main culprit is Asian organized crime, who truck down marijuana
shipments south of the border where the market value is much higher.
Drug producers can fetch up to $7,500 a pound in the states compared
to only $2,500 in Ontario.

"Canadian bud is the number one thing wanted right now in the States.
The laws are so harsh now in the U.S., that if they can get it through
from the Canadian border, all the better," says Garbutt.

Police are also noticing these organizations doing straight exchanges
for cocaine, which is subsequently shipped back to Ontario for
distribution. Cocaine seizures around Peterborough and Lindsay have
already shot up by more than 200 per cent this year compared to last.

The Livingston Lake marijuana seizure is considered a small bust, but
Garbutt says a county like Haliburton presents ideal settings for such
operations.

"The counties have secrecy. In this particular case, it was a cottage
down by a lake. It was snow covered, so very few people would ever
notice it driving by."

Garbutt could not reveal how police discovered the Livingston
operation, but says there are a number of potential indicators:
anything from neighbours witnessing suspicious behaviour to hydro
companies that notice unusual fluctuations in hydro use (grow-ops
require much more electricity to run than normal residences).

It is estimated there are as many as 20,000 growing operations in
Ontario with a market value of $1 billion a year.