HELICOPTER RAIDS TARGET GROW OPS

A 10-day marijuana eradication initiative has put a small dent in Vancouver
Island's pot supply.

RCMP and military forces targeted outdoor grow operations on northern and
central Vancouver Island and seized 18,300 marijuana plants.

"These plants, in a few short weeks, would have been harvested by their
growers and distributed on the streets of B.C.," said RCMP Const. Beth
Blackburn of the Drug Awareness Service.

"We are only scratching the surface with these seizures but reducing the
supply of marijuana on our streets has an impact on our communities."

Seizures took place near Port Hardy and on Lasqueti Island. Three people
were arrested and Blackburn said police are continuing to investigate.

"The RCMP continue their efforts to disrupt the illegal marijuana trade in
B.C.," she said.

"Year-round efforts will continue to extracte marijuana and further reduce
the profits to organized crime."