POLICE LINK BUST TO ASIAN CRIME GANG

WINNIPEG Police believe a drug bust they made yesterday in an affluent
neighbourhood of south Winnipeg is linked to an Asian crime gang.

The Winnipeg police drug and gang units, armed with a search warrant,
teamed up for the early morning raid on a home in White Ridge.

Once inside the home on Vineland Crescent, police say, they found an
extensive hydroponic grow operation.

Police carted out 520 marijuana plants -- with an estimated street value of
$873,000 -- in the large marijuana bust shortly after 7:30 a.m.

Hydroponic grow operation equipment was also seized, said police
spokeswoman Const. Shelly Glover.

"Although the investigation is continuing, it is now believed this grow
operation is linked to Asian organized crime," police said in a statement
last night. Two women and a man were arrested and face charges of producing
and possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.