POLICE LOOK FOR LINKS BETWEEN POT OPERATIONS

A massive investigation involving the seizure of $30 million worth of
marijuana may have links to a smaller illegal grow operation discovered in
Oro-Medonte over the weekend, police are saying.

Acting on a tip, scores of officers raided the former Molson plant on Big
Bay Point Road in Barrie early Saturday morning, unearthing more than 30,000
plants and arresting nine people.

Once inside the sprawling, three-storey building, members of the Barrie
Police Service, along with provincial drug-enforcement officers, K-9 teams
and others, found themselves face to face with what Deputy Commissioner
Vaughn Collins later described as "the largest and most sophisticated grow
operation in Canada, using more than 60,000 square feet of space."

Along with thousands of plants, police found an elaborate growing system
that included the large vats once used to brew beer.

Police later seized approximately 3,000 additional plants from a second
complex located within the Oro Centre.

The centre is a commercial building that houses a small number of businesses
north of Barrie.

"We think there is a link (with the Barrie operation), but that is certainly
part of the investigation at the moment," OPP Superintendent Bill Crate told
Orillia Today.

Crate later said it was the initial investigation at the Barrie plant that
led police to the Oro-Medonte operation.

Officials say both of the indoor grow facilities were being operated around
the clock.

Dormitory-like areas, capable of accommodating as many as 50 people at a
time, included such creature comforts as beds, televisions, refrigerators
and stoves. Plants were nurtured with artificial light provided by
hydroponic equipment, with the entire operation able to produce as many as
four crops per year.

Several of those arrested hail from the St. Catharines, Niagara Falls
region. Two are from Toronto, while another man lives near Stayner.

Police are now investigating whether more than one of the building's
existing tenants was involved in the illegal activity.

As of Monday, no arrests had been made in Oro-Medonte, said Crate.

Once one of Barrie's largest employers, Molson Breweries closed the Highway
400 plant in 2000. After sitting idle for a period of time, some tenants
were obtained, including a soft-drink manufacturer.