RAID HITS INDUSTRIAL SIZED POT GROW-OP

Victoria police came across a large-scale marijuana growing operation
after raiding a warehouse on Devonshire Road, January 8.

Victoria police Sgt. John Bond said an investigation was conducted
with the department's primary response division before search warrants
were obtained to enter three separate locations in Victoria and Esquimalt.

At one of the locations, a huge marijuana grow-op was found in a
warehouse at 835 Devonshire Road.

The other location was a home in the 3100-block of Rutledge Street in
Victoria. Two Victoria-area men, aged 23 and 24, face charges of
possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of
trafficking.

Bond, who heads the strike force, said the two men were allegedly
found with about $400,000 worth of marijuana. About $350,000 of that
was found in an elaborate marijuana grow-op in the Devonshire Road
warehouse.

"We had it under surveillance," said Bond, a former member of the
defunct Esquimalt police department, adding the bust in Esquimalt was
unusually large. "In my 28 years, it was the most significant and
sophisticated grow operation I've seen in the Esquimalt area," he said.

Bond noted complex electrical wiring, large commercial filters and
extensive lighting were what police came across when they raided the
building. He said more than 400 plants were found on the premises. As
well, Bond said fully grown marijuana plants were found in the
building and a small amount of cocaine was found at the home on
Rutledge Street.

"The strike force ended up having to utilize a moving van to
disassemble it," he said.

Bond said information about marijuana grow-ops in Greater Victoria
comes in on a daily basis.