'GREEN TEAM' GOES FOR THE ROOTS

Burnaby RCMP's new Green team could easily take down three grow-ops a day,
every day of the year. There are that many out there, says Corp. Mark
McCutcheon, who heads the newly formed team.

But tearing down marijuana grow operations is just a portion of the mandate
of the four-member team. Besides, dismantling the illegal operations barely
makes a dent in their numbers.

McCutcheon and his newly formed crew are looking to make one or more
arrests every time they execute a search warrant at a suspected grow-op.
That could mean the Green Team only carries out three busts a week but if
arrests are made it will have a greater impact, says McCutcheon.

"Rather than just rip them out, we want to do more," said McCutcheon. "By
making arrests and charging, we can deliver a message that Burnaby is not a
good place to set up shop."

The Green Team, started earlier this month, is still in its infancy but
that didn't stop it from taking down three grow-ops and making seven
arrests last week. The team also recently closed down a warehouse being
used to harvest 1,825 marijuana plants.

The team's usual method is to conduct surveillance on a suspected
grow-operation, collect enough information for a search warrant and take
down the illegal operation when the suspects are at home. In addition to
the Green Team, members from the Dog Service and other officers take part
since a grow-op bust typically involves six to 10 members.

Currently, the Green Team has a list of more than 150 suspected marijuana
grow-ops they need to investigate. The tips come in from the public, BC
Hydro, CrimeStoppers and other members. That list is an indication of the
depth of the problem, said McCutcheon, since each suspected grow-op comes
from an unsolicited tip.

"There are that many and we haven't even gone out to the public yet."

The recent creation of a full-time Green Team, the first time in Burnaby,
is overdue, said McCutcheon. Grow-ops have become a battleground for
criminals. "Grow rips," where gangs try to steal the marijuana harvest of a
grow-op, have become commonplace and involve guns, knives and other weapons.

"It's not just the growing that we're concerned with," said McCutcheon,
noting that most are fire risks because of the use of hydro bypasses. "It's
all the associated crime that comes with it. That's why we've targeted it."