UP IN SMOKE

COLE HARBOUR - Cole Harbour RCMP made an unexpected pot bust early
yesterday, after firefighters smashed into a house in Cole Harbour to make
sure it hadn't caught fire after car in its driveway appeared to explode.
Inside the house, located at 70 Cole Drive, firefighters stumbled on to
about 100 marijuana plants, said RCMP Sgt. Ken Coakley.

One man was arrested for cultivation of marijuana and drug charges are
pending, said Coakley. An investigation into the car fire has also begun.

A neighbour across the street from the house, who didn't want to be
identified, said he was shaken out of sleep around 4:15 a.m. yesterday and
saw flames spewing from the car as high as the roof tops.

"We heard two pops; everybody heard the same thing," said the man. "And
through our window you could see the flames, on the reflection off the
wall. And from when the pops hit to the time I jumped up 10 seconds later,
it was above that peak (of the roof)."

The man said firefighters arrived quickly and sprayed the two adjacent
houses before putting out the car fire.

RCMP quickly had the place secured, he said, and began dragging the pot
plants out around 12:30 p.m.

A man, who said his name was Tony Philibert, identified himself as the home
owner yesterday evening. A maroon Buick Roadmaster sat in his driveway, the
interior gutted by fire and smelling of charred metal.

The blue siding had melted from the side of his home and pink insulation
lay strewn about the driveway and front lawn. The house to the other side
of the driveway also sustained damage.

Philibert said he was "blank" when he returned yesterday morning to find
the car destroyed and police surrounding his home.

When asked about the marijuana plants found in his home he shrugged his
shoulders and grimly said, "I don't know what to tell you, my friend."

He wouldn't say if he was the man charged in the incident.

Meanwhile, neighbourhood children played on his front lawn and parents on
this quiet suburban street were shaking their heads in disbelief. Many said
they liked Philibert.

They said they were shocked that drugs had been found in their community.