EIGHT CHARGED IN POT BUST GET BAIL

Six Told Not To Contact Building Owner

Ninth Man In Hospital, Misses Hearing

BARRIE--Bail conditions for six of the nine men charged in connection with
Canada's largest marijuana bust included an order to not contact the
building's owner, a real estate magnate whose companies manage properties
across southern Ontario and Montreal.

No explanation was offered to the court as to why the accused were not to
communicate with Vincent De Rosa and his company, Fercan Developments,
which owns the landmark former Molson brewery where 30,000 plants were
seized from a vast hydroponic growing operation police described as a
high-tech marijuana factory.

They were also ordered not to contact Bob De Rosa, the manager of Vicar
Properties, a subsidiary of Fercan, which was based at the site, as well as
employees from Fercan's Multi-Brand Foods and other business tenants at the
former brewery: National Roasters, Very Good Fish Company, Smitty's
Transport and Arcade Trucking.

The unexplained conditions are only part of a tangled business web that has
enveloped the property since police discovered the round-the-clock factory,
which used what were giant beer vats as hot houses to produce an estimated
$100-million worth of marijuana annually.

Italo Ferrari, a Fercan executive, told the Hamilton Spectator he knew
nothing of the marijuana operation and would not comment on the
relationship between Vince De Rosa, a St. Catharines businessman, and Bob
De Rosa. National Roasters also lists Nicola De Rosa, from Niagara-on-the
Lake, as its executive.

"You can look at it any way you want," Ferrari said bluntly as he strode
out of his office on the third floor of the Hamilton City Centre, which his
company owns.

"We're the landlords and we're renting the property up there. We don't know
who comes and who goes."

After bail hearings in Barrie bail court yesterday, Justice of the Peace
Sue Hilton released eight of the nine men charged with production and
possession of marijuana in connection with Saturday's raid on bail ranging
from $10,000 to $20,000.

The six with bail conditions are [NAME DELETED], 34, of St. Catharines,
[NAME DELETED], 49, of St. Catharines, [NAME DELETED], 33, of Corunna,
Ont., [NAME DELETED], 24, of Niagara Falls, Ont., [NAME DELETED], 36, of
St. Catharines and [NAME DELETED], 43, of Niagara Falls, Ont.

Randall Barrs, a lawyer for five of the men -- [NAMES DELETED], -- said his
clients were not found inside the former brewery next to Highway 400, and
questioned the strength of the crown's case.

[NAME DELETED], 23, of Toronto and [NAME DELETED], 29, of Stayner were also
released but their bail conditions cannot be reported because of a
court-ordered publication ban.

All eight were ordered to return to court Feb. 11.

[NAME DELETED], 60, of Toronto, the ninth man charged, was unable to attend
his bail hearing because he is in hospital, court heard.