ARMED 'COPS' BUSTED

Six heavily armed "cops" were taken down by the real thing at an OPP stakeout
of an $18-million grow operation in the Kawarthas. OPP officers were staking
out a huge pot plantation on Kawartha Lakes Rd. in Laxton Township on Sunday
when what looked like another troop of officers, dressed in police garb, began
harvesting the crop.

Knowing that no other police department knew about the operation or where the
crop was located, the OPP sprang from the bushes and surprised the thieves.

"They were probably seconds from a gunfight," OPP Deputy Commissioner Vaughan
Collins said.

"There was a second or two of extremely tense moments," he said. "They were
there to rip off the growers and they came armed to do it."

The six men allegedly had handguns, a high-powered rifle, bullet-proof vests,
and imitation police badges, OPP Const. Ted Schendera said.

"When they are armed and the police are armed, things could go either way,"
Schendera said. "It was fortunate that no one chose to fire."

Police also found a delivery van and a pickup truck.

"This points to the violence that's growing around the illegal production of
marijuana," said Collins, who estimates there are 15,000 grow operations in the
province.

Officers were back at the scene yesterday destroying the massive crop while the
hunt for the real pot growers continued.