POLICE TEAM TO TARGET GROW-OPS

A six-member police task force will soon be created in the Lower Mainland to
deal with organized crime and the region's marijuana growing problem.

RCMP Insp. Tony Mahon made that announcement Tuesday during the city's
community safety committee meeting.

Mahon said the federal team will eye the upper echelon of organized crime
who are believed responsible for the bulk of the marijuana problem.

The task force will act as a co-ordinating body for the region and will also
look at preventative steps that can be taken to combat the proliferation of
B.C. bud operations.

Last week, six marijuana operations were shut down by Richmond RCMP. Two
grow-rip style home invasions resulted in the arrest of several people,
Mahon said.

The Richmond marijuana team, which was expanded from five to nine members
recently, is also working on specific targets, he said.

Grow rips continue to be a problem in Richmond. In December and January,
over the span of three weeks, two innocent families were victimized. One
family wasn't aware it had rented a former grow operation, while another
couple lived just down the road from one.