UNLOCKED DOOR LEADS TO POT, GUNS SEIZURES

CITY police believe they've put a major marijuana dealer out of business
after someone apparently left a door unlocked to his stash of packaged pot
and illegal guns. Police put the marijuana and the guns -- including three
black-market handguns -- on display yesterday to send a message that
marijuana use should not be considered harmless.

"People think it's a soft drug," Staff Sgt. Mike Ashley said. "But this guy
had enough firepower to protect his interests."

"These guns are going to work if pointed at you," added Det. Sgt. Paul
Brown of the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team.

Police made the gun and marijuana seizure after a worker at a north
Winnipeg storage facility noticed Monday that a door to one of the storage
units was left open. After peeking inside, police were immediately called.

Police, with a warrant, seized 31 individually wrapped half-pound bags of
marijuana with a street value of $62,000. Also found were these firearms: A
Colt .223 rifle which looks like a M-16 assault rifle, a Chinese WW II SKS
7.62 x 39 mm assault rifle, a Ruger 9 mm pistol, a Smith & Wesson .357
revolver and a Glock .45 cal. pistol Police also seized assorted ammunition
and clips for the firearms.

Ashley also said investigators later arrested three males in connection
with the marijuana and guns, and were later made aware of a hydroponic grow
operation at a Parkview Street home in St. James.

Drug unit officers later searched the two-storey rental home and found a
grow operation in the basement. Seventy-five clone plants with a street
value of $113,750 were seized.

Police believe the pot found in the storage locker have just been harvested
and was being sold to mid-level dealers in Winnipeg.

A half-pound bag of pot sells for about $2,000 or more on the street.
Broken down, a gram of pot sells for $10.

Brown said the .357 revolver was stolen from a break-in in the Morris area
in July 2002. The Ruger 9 mm was stolen from an Olympia, Wash. gun shop in
1999 and smuggled into Canada. Police don't know how the guns ended up in
Winnipeg.

Charged with a variety of weapon and drug charges are Kevin Clarke, 26, of
Chochinov Avenue and Eli Lenio, 26, of Ashworth Avenue. Both were detained
in custody. A 20-year-old male was arrested for possession of marijuana for
the purpose of trafficking during the arrest of Lenio and released on a
promise to appear.