HYDRO HELPING TO GET RID OF DRUGS

WELLAND - Marijuana growers could be in for a shock thanks to a partnership
developing between Welland Hydro and the Niagara Regional Police.

The goal is to get drugs off the street and make neighbourhoods safer for
unsuspecting residents who may be living next door to a marijuana grow
operation.

Ross Peever, president and CEO of Welland Hydro, said the local utility
company has helped the NRP shut down several of the illegal sites over the
past few years. The reasons for the utility's involvement are many -- but
public safety ranks high on the list.

Hydro theft is another motivating factor for the electricity provider as it
struggles under the weight of hydro deregulation.

In order to escape detection, marijuana growers illegally bypass their
hydro meters to steal the large amounts of electricity needed to fuel the
20 to 30, 1,000-watt lights needed to produce the drugs.

Peever said the stolen electricity can cost Welland Hydro between $15,000
and $20,000 per "grow house."

The theft is a direct loss to the utility -- which must purchase its
electricity on the spot market to light and power Welland homes.

"The theft of hydro hurts everyone," Peever said. "We're trying to educate
the public with respect to grow houses."

Kevin Bailey, of Welland Hydro's metering and operations department, shares
horror stories about hap-hazard wiring jobs -- making these grow houses
deadly fire traps.

He said most of the illegally-rigged houses are poorly grounded, leaving
live wires exposed and posing the threat of electrocution.

Bailey said there are tell-tale signs hydro service personnel have been
trained to watch for. When they encounter anything suspicious, the police
are contacted immediately.

Besides the direct cost of hydro theft, Welland Hydro must also repair the
damage caused by the pot growers. This takes manpower away from scheduled
maintenance and other necessary work.

Peever said Welland Hydro will hold the owners of homes used to grow
marijuana accountable for their actions -- whether their involvement is
direct or indirect. He said outstanding accounts for stolen hydro must be
repaid in full before Welland Hydro will reconnect the service.

Statistics show a single marijuana grow operation can cost a utility
company $1,000 per month.

In the past 18 month, Niagara Regional Police have shut down about 15 grow
operations in Welland, two as early as this week.

Welland hydro alerted police to several of the illegal sites.

Detective Sergeant Tom MacLean, of the NRP's Morality Unit, said growers
are targeting new subdivision as prime real estate.

He said a 2,000-square-foot home with an unfinished basement is the perfect
environment for a marijuana grow.

MacLean said cooperation from local hydro utilities across the region has
been a great help in fighting the war on drugs.

He agreed houses used to cultivate marijuana are "a big safety hazard,"
responsible for several Niagara fires in the last two years.

The illegal operations also pose a threat to society as a whole, he added.

"We wouldn't want to live beside one of them and we don't think the public
would either," MacLean said.

Criminals who set up grow operations are motivated by the lure of quick and
easy money.

MacLean said a mature plant harvested from a typical marijuana grow is
worth up to $1,000 on the street.

Many of the basement operations are capable of churning out 300 plants
every 60 days.

Sixty-three marijuana grow operations have been closed down across Niagara
since January 2002.

"It's a problem we don't see going away," he said. "It's here to stay until
the government changes its attitude."

Until January of this year, people convicted of cultivating marijuana were
unlikely to receive any time in jail.

Detective Sergeant Paul Rogers, of 33 Division's Street Crime Unit, said
drugs play a role in all other forms of crime, whether it is break and
enters, convenience store robberies, purse snatchings or kids going through
cars at night to steal loose change.

Drugs are the common denominator: they're expensive and people need money
to buy them.

Karen Kier, Crime Stoppers coordinator for the Niagara Region, said a
recent media campaign aimed at shutting down marijuana grows in
Kitchener-Waterloo yielded an overwhelming public response.

She hopes for similar success in Niagara as residents become more educated
and begin to report suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods.

She said 75 per cent of the tips currently received by Crime Stoppers are
drug-related. Tipsters never have to testify in court and all calls are
strictly confidential.

Anyone who suspects a marijuana grow operation in their neighbourhood
should call Niagara Regional Police or Crime Stoppers at (905) 688-4111.

TAKE NOTE

Tips for spotting marijuana grow operations in your neighbourhood:

- - Residents only attend the home occasionally for short periods of time.

- - Equipment such as large fans, lights, plastic plant containers and soil
are carried into the house at odd hours.

- - The exterior appearance of the property is untidy.

- - Windows are covered to conceal activities.

- - Windows are often covered with condensation.

- - Hydro meters are tampered with.

- - The growing of marijuana produces a strong skunk-like odor that can often
be detected outside the home.

- - Occupants enter the home through the garage to conceal activity.