POT GROWERS FEEL HEAT IN COLD WINNIPEG

Winnipeg -- It's only mid-February, but Winnipeg police say they have
already raided close to 20 marijuana crop operations this year, five of
those in a seven-day period this month.

That gives the city a chance to surpass the 108 raids made last year, drug
unit Sergeant Danny Smyth said.

Last week, city police uncovered four residential growing operations.

The week before, a raid on an upscale Whyte Ridge home ended with the
seizure of 520 plants. Police contend the house was linked to Asian
organized crime.

"We've discovered grows in every area of the city, from the inner city out
to most of the suburbs," Sgt. Smyth said.

He said the biggest risks such operations pose to the public are fire, power
outages, poisonous gases and explosions.