LOCAL COPS TAKE PART IN ISLAND-WIDE POT BUST

Two Victoria Police Department officers were part of an airborne
pot-busting operation last month.

They were the VPD's contribution to a marijuana eradication effort
that saw officers from the RCMP, Saanich Police and the VPD cut down
19,000 marijuana plants growing on Crown land around Vancouver
Island. Transportation was provided by Canadian Forces Sea King helicopters.

"They were dismantling those crops and taking them down, doing all
the things that are involved," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton, spokesman for the VPD.

The city force only contributed the officers' time, nothing beyond
that came out of the department's budget, said Hamilton.

"It's good to work with other agencies, get the experience, get the
knowledge of the growing business, especially as it applies to that
rural, outdoors environment," he said.

While there was no estimate how much of the marijuana destroyed may
have been destined for Victoria, Hamilton was confident the operation
was good for the city.

"The alternative is to do nothing ... any time you can limit the
supply of drugs to the street, that's safer for everyone."

Cpl. Greg Cox said it was "reasonable to assume" the majority of it
may have been intended for Victoria, because it's the Island's largest city.

He estimates the plants could have produced between one to two million joints.

Two arrests were made during the operation. Police found two people
tending a crop near Campbell River.