OPP BUST MORE GROW OPS

A pair of marijuana grow operations went up in smoke last week, after
police corralled nearly $1 million worth of plants from area fields.

Caledon OPP have laid charges on one man in connection with a Sept. 15
bust, and are on the hunt for others, says Sgt. Bob Paterson of
Caledon OPP. Police seized 400 marijuana plants and five pounds of
dried marijuana from a Caledon home.

A day later, officers confiscated 500 plants -- $500,000 in value --
and one pound of dried marijuana from a farm located on Airport Road
in Caledon.

"This is definitely the largest (bust) of the summer," Paterson told
The Banner.

The busts were two of several illegal drug purges executed in the area
last week. In a separate incident, area detachments, including
Dufferin OPP and Orangeville police, garnered more than $100,000 worth
of marijuana plants from an open field in Amaranth Township, Sept.
15.

The eradication project is an annual OPP initiative and is typically
done in August and September to coincide with harvest time.

Paterson says that targeting grow operations during the harvest period
is ideal, as it affords criminals no time to propagate a second crop.
In addition, criminals are likely busy in the fields reaping their
yield, and can be easier to catch.

Drug enforcement officers will continue to search the area via
helicopter for marijuana grow operations.

Charged in the Sept. 15 bust instance with production, possession and
possession for the purpose of trafficking is Tom Doracin, 36, of Caledon.