GROW HOUSE CRACKDOWN IN CITY

A seven-member team of Peel police morality officers shut down 22 marijuana
grow labs in Brampton homes during a summer crackdown.

In July and August, the team also raided 44 residential grow labs in
Mississauga. Between the two cities, police seized more than $30 million
worth of marijuana, arrested 42 and laid 112 criminal charges.

The blitz brought the total to 270 labs shut down so far this year. That
has already surpassed last year's total, according to Insp. David Van
Loosen, officer in charge of Peel's Morality Bureau.

He called the use of houses as marijuana grow labs an "epidemic."

"As a community, we have to work together to rid ourselves of these
criminal enterprises," Van Loosen said. "The theft of electricity and other
public safety issues are endemic with marijuana cultivation and usage. A
grow house could be next door to you."

Det. Wayne Unruh said officers found a family of seven living in one house
on Burgby Avenue in the area of Queen Street W. and McLaughlin Road in July.

"There were four adults and three small children found in the house," he
said. Inside, in addition to the marijuana plants, police found the
chemicals used to grow them and the hydro metre had been bypassed.

Significant risks

"The electrical bypass poses a significant risk to kids, not only the
environment," he said.

On Abelard Avenue in the area of Steeles Avenue W. and McLaughlin Road, the
front doorknob and lock on a grow house had been wired to deliver an
electrical shock to anyone who touched it, he said. It is booby traps like
it that pose a danger to anyone, including police attempting to enter the
house. That is why morality officers usually break down the door to get
into a suspected grow house.

"We smash the front door open because we don't want to expose ourselves to
that risk," Unruh said.

It also gives officers the element of surprise if there is anyone inside
the house.

Unruh said knives, machetes and baseball bats are sometimes found placed
"strategically" throughout the houses. He said the weapons are likely there
to protect against home invasion robberies, not police raids.

Police are encouraging residents to report unusual activity. They say there
are several signs indicating a house may be a front for a drug lab:

nobody appears to be home or people come for a few hours and then leave;

strange odours;

windows are always closed and are boarded up or covered;

the ground has been dug up around the hydro box;

the snow isn't shovelled or grass cut on a regular basis.

Extensive damage is done to houses converted to grow labs, bringing down
property values. Landlords can do their part to help eliminate the labs by
being suspicious of:

tenants who pay cash and offer more than you're asking;

tenants who discourage you from visiting the house;

tenants who won't provide references, previous addresses or proper
identification.

Residents can report their suspicions to the Morality Bureau at
905-453-3311, ext. 7260, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at
1-800-222-TIPS (8477).