REZONED FOR DRUGS

Growhouse Found Right Next Door to Ecstasy Lab

WHERE THERE'S smoke there is usually fire, but this time there was
also a $10-million Ecstasy production lab with a marijuana growhouse
next door. York Regional Police and Markham firefighters found the
Ecstasy lab around 8:15 a.m. on Saturday as they arrived at a spacious
home on Manhattan Dr., near McCowan and 16th Aves. As they were
checking around the exterior of that home, they noticed the windows of
the house next door were covered, a typical tactic used by growhouse
operators to hide their illegal activities.

Yesterday, armed with a search warrant, they broke down the door of
the house and found growing paraphernalia and three large garbage bags
full of leftover stalks in the basement. But the rest of the house
looked as if it had been prepared for resale, police said.

'Christmas' For Cops

At the same time next door, officers were cleaning up the chemical
mess at the Ecstasy drug lab house.

"It seems like Christmas. Every time you opened another door there was
a big surprise," said Det. Rob Cullen of the York Regional Police drug
enforcement unit.

Yesterday and Sunday drug enforcement officers, along with two Health
Canada workers -- wearing blue chemical suits and air masks -- were
busy sifting through the upper floors of the house, collecting toxic,
caustic evidence.

"We discovered large oversized volumes of lab equipment were being
used to cook in large batches," said Cullen. "Had this thing exploded
it would have levelled the house, plus the homes on either side."

Police removed boxes and vats of chemicals, 50 kilos of finished and
half-produced powder, plus 12.2 kilos of processed and packaged
marijuana yesterday.

Police suspect a second house is being used to process the powder into
pill form for sale.

Police are searching for a 40-year-old Asian man and an 8-year-old boy
they believe may have fled the residence.