WEED 'N' WEAPONS

Cops Find Rifles, Guns, $175,000 Worth Of Pot

A suspected drug dealer's haste to get to the Snoop Dogg concert allegedly
led police to a high-powered weapons cache and more than $175,000 in
marijuana. Police say one of three suspects was in such a hurry to make
some drug deals at the hip-hop show Monday night that he accidentally left
his locker open at a North End storage facility.

"He ran in there, grabbed his stash (of pot) and forgot to close the door,"
said District 3 Sgt. Mike Ashley. "He was a little excited."

Staff at the facility discovered the unlocked storage unit -- which
appeared to contain a large amount of marijuana -- and called police.

Armed with a search warrant, officers seized 31 half-pound bags of weed
worth $62,000, along with two military assault rifles and three handguns.

Elaborate Operation

Cops also raided a St. James rental home on Parkview Street, where they
uncovered an elaborate marijuana grow operation in the basement, including
75 plants with a street value of $113,750.

Neighbours never suspected anything because the grow op was vented through
the chimney, while it also involved charcoal filters and dehumidifiers to
prevent the build-up of humidity and any odours, Ashley said.

Three men have been arrested.

Besides the drugs and weapons, police recovered $2,700 in cash, ammunition,
money counters and scales, as well as posters of the mafia movie Goodfellas
and Bob Marley smoking a joint -- two images that show the suspects'
"mentality," police said.

Criminal Underworld

The suspects, who have no known ties to any criminal gangs, appear to have
been working as an independent crime group, police said.

"They're part of the criminal underworld," added RCMP Const. John Hurley.

Police are concerned about the heavy-duty firepower that the suspects were
allegedly using while peddling what the government and public now considers
a soft drug.

"We do not recover semi-automatics like this every day," Ashley said. "This
group is very serious about what they're doing and protecting their
interests. And it's obviously very lucrative."

Kevin Clarke, 26, and Eli Lenio, 26, were charged with several firearms and
drug-related offences. They were both detained in custody.

A third man, 20, faces one count of possession of marijuana for the purpose
of trafficking. His name was withheld because he was released on a promise
to appear in court at a later date.