POT SQUAD GETS ONE STEP AHEAD OF GROW RIPPERS

Police with Richmond's RCMP anti-marijuana production team have been
hard at it recently trying to dismantle pot grow operations before
thieves armed with bats and guns have a chance to move in.

Two growers at a home at 6340 Williams Road were among those on the
so-called "grow-rippers" hit list recently.

According to a police search warrant, "multiple sources" indicated the
house was targeted for a rip.

"The information of unknown reliability did not indicate a time or
date that this 'rip' would take place, however, there have been four
home invasions/grow rips in the past three weeks. All four of these
home invasions involved the use of weapons by the assailants and they
all occurred in the early hours of the morning," wrote Const. Gary
Mehat in the warrant.

When police busted the home they found much of the operation had been
taken down.

However, 17 pounds of dried pot were seized, along with related
growing equipment. A woman was arrested.

More recently, on Feb. 14, officers arrested three men and took down
319 plants at a condominium (unit #2) at 8491 Jones Road.

A water leak from the apartment apparently tipped police off to the
grow.

Earlier in the month, police searches at 6980 No. 9 Road (102
plants/two arrests), 5900 No. 1 Road (152 plants/one arrest), 6171
Riverdale Road (739 plants) and an apartment at the 22888 Winsor Court
complex (144 plants) all proved fruitful.

In the latter case involving the Winsor Court apartment, thieves had
hit the place first, cropping all the mature plants and tearing down a
portion of the window coverings, making it obvious to those looking in
what was being grown inside.

"That was an odd one," said Cpl. Bob Pinkewycz, head of the
anti-marijuana production team. "They (the thieves) definitely wanted
the general public to know there was a grow-op here."

Between the police and the thieves, pot growers in Richmond have found
themselves under the gun - literally - these past few weeks.

In one case, a man living at 8420 Spires Road sustained minor injuries
after he climbed out a second-storey window to avoid confrontation
with four men armed with baseball bats and a handgun who'd broken into
his home.

The thieves made off with 50 of an estimated 100 pot plants being
grown hydroponically in a basement room.

This incident is one in a series of violent home invasions targeting
marijuana grow homes in the city.

In two incidents, occurring in late December, thieves broke into the
wrong homes, terrorizing families who had no knowledge of grow operations.

No arrests have yet been made in connection to the grow rips.