COPS RAID CITY GROW OP

Ottawa police seized 220 marijuana plants and growing equipment during a
raid on a west-end pot growing operation Wednesday night. Police executed a
search warrant at 903 Normandy Cres. at around 6 p.m. and discovered
marijuana plants worth an estimated $220,000 and equipment worth $10,000.

No one was in the house at the time of the raid and no arrests have been made.

The raid was conducted on the same day a report was released by the Ontario
Association of Chiefs of Police that found these illegal operations to be a
growing problem across Ontario.

The report estimates that indoor growing operations increased by 250%
between 2000 and 2003, with as many as 15,000 in operation in 2002. Ottawa
police suspect there are potentially hundreds of "grow ops" currently
operating in the city.

"It's something that is happening so much in the last 3-4 years," said
Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault. "It's not something that is that unusual right now."