MARIJUANA BIG BUSINESS IN B.C. TOWN

SEYMOUR ARM, B.C. -- This lakeside B.C. hamlet is so remote it can be
reached only by boat or logging road, and so small there is only one
store. But investigators say many of Seymour Arm's 60 residents were
involved in one business operation -- growing marijuana.

One hundred RCMP officers executed search warrants on 14 homes and 14
vehicles Tuesday and found several factory-sized operations within a
four-kilometre radius, Superintendent Marianne Ryan said. At least 16
people were arrested in the rustic town about 380 kilometres northeast
of Vancouver and more arrests are likely, she said yesterday.

"We've never seen anything like this before, not where a whole
community is affected this way."

The raid followed a two-year investigation that started with
complaints from other residents, and some officers said they were
approached on the town's dirt street by people who thanked them for
the raid.

"These people are really glad this is over," Sergeant John Ward
said.

Ed Doll, who has spent summers in Seymour Arm for 20 years, said the
village was an ideal spot for marijuana businesses.

"This is a remote area only accessible by boat and a single logging
road. It's the last place anyone would look," he said. "There have
always been a lot of mom and pop operations but these ones were more
than just mom and pop. Who needs that kind of thing?"

The RCMP raid was the culmination of a two-year investigation into
what they are calling a sophisticated drug operation.

Investigators say the harvested marijuana, which was distributed to
Vancouver, Calgary and the United States, was worth millions on the
street. The say the drug activity was linked to organized crime.