POT FACTORY BUSTED IN MISSION

Forty-nine people were arrested in Mission on Friday after RCMP busted a
marijuana growing factory at a Silverdale property.

Mission RCMP Corp. Murray Power said the setup at the two-storey barn was so
efficient it left him and the B.C. Hydro workers shaking their heads. "It
was the most efficient and effective operation I've ever seen," Power said
on Monday.

Power said the barn had 12 industrial-size air conditioners in it and 230 to
1,000 watt lights inside the growing rooms. He said the electrical
consumption for the lights alone was equivalent to the consumption of 70
houses.

"This has all of the earmarks of organized crime," said Power.

"The dollars to set up this organization are quite significant. There's got
to be substantial financial resources and contacts. The hydro set up was
amazing. It's a concern when they have access to those kinds of
professionals," he said.

Of the the 49 people arrested, 48 were working in the barn harvesting the
3,000 marijuana plants. One man was arrested in the bedroom of the nearby
house. Power said a loaded handgun was close by.

Power said the majority of the 48 workers didn't know where they were when
they were arrested. He said they were brought into the area in the back of a
cube van and returned home after their shift.

Forty of the workers were women and some of them were mother-daughter teams.
All of them were white. Power said he isn't sure what they were getting paid
but said he heard reports of $100 to $200 a day.

"If you want to jump into the back of a dark van and have no idea where
you're going, it brings into question how much you'll do to make a buck,"
said Power. "But these workers know what they're getting into. It's a
concern because without them you don't have an industry."

Power said the RCMP are going to "take our time to dig into this . . . and
determine who the proprietors are."

He would not say how the RCMP found out about the growing operation.