TWO GROW OPS TARGETED

The dangerous side of tending illegal marijuana grow operations revealed
itself early on Thursday morning as a pair of homes and their residents,
which included young children, fell victim to gangs of grow rippers.

According to Richmond RCMP, a group of masked suspects armed with baseball
bats kicked down the front door of a home in the 8200 block of Francis Road
at around 1:30 a.m. and assaulted a man in his 60s who was there with his
teenage daughter. The man suffered severe head wounds and was later
transported to hospital.

The term "grow rippers" is given to marauding groups who exclusively target
marijuana grow operations for their lucrative crops and the possibility
that large sums of cash, attained through illegal drug sales, will be on
the premises.

Police said the home on Francis Road had a crop of approximately 300
marijuana plants.

Officers at the scene who were responding to a 911 call from the residents
arrested two suspects caught fleeing the home. A short time later, two
other suspects were apprehended. The four, one adult and three juveniles,
were scheduled to appear in Richmond Provincial Court on Friday.

Just under an hour after the first grow rip, police responded to a 911 call
from a home in the 900 block of No. 4 Road which contained as many as 600
plants.

A group of three or four males brandishing pepper spray forced their way
into the home. The residents, a husband, wife, and their eight-year-old son
and 10-year-old daughter, managed to escape the home through a back door
and were not injured.

The suspects fled the scene before police arrived.

Based on reports that members of both groups were carrying similar items
when they broke into the homes, police believe there is a strong
possibility the two incidents are linked, but would not specify what those
items were.

Charges against the residents are being contemplated by police who
expressed concern that young children are becoming involved as innocent
victims in a risky and illegal business.