FIRES, NEIGHBOURS' TIPS OFTEN REVEAL OPERATION

Here's a snapshot of recent marijuana seizures with suspected links to
organized crime:

* Nov. 11: Police discover a 360-plant hydroponic marijuana grow in the
basement of an unoccupied house at 35 Dunham St. in northwest Winnipeg. The
discovery is made when a neighbour reported suspicious activity. The
seizure was worth $604,000.

* Dec. 12: A fire breaks out in a house at 32 Shalimar Cres. in north West
Kildonan. Neighbours help a man get out of the house safely. Police find a
hydroponic grow in the basement and 50 plants. The seizure is worth $84,000.

* Dec. 28: A provincial transportation compliance officer discovers 45
kilograms of packaged marijuana in a compartment in a semi-trailer at the
Manitoba-Ontario weigh station. The seizure is worth $500,000.

* Jan. 15: Police find 574 marijuana plants in an indoor grow operation at
95 De Caigny Cove in south St. Boniface. The seizure is worth $965,000.

* Jan. 21: U.S. Customs officers search a truck from Manitoba at the
Pembina border crossing. A drug-sniffing dog hits on 14 kilos of packaged
pot hidden in a false compartment in the truck's gas tank. A 38-year-old
Selkirk man is in custody in Grand Forks pending trial. The street value of
the seizure is $180,000 US.

* Jan. 31: Police discover a basement grow operation at a house at 958
Alfred Ave. The discovery leads investigators to two more houses, one in
the 800 block of Redwood Avenue and the other in the 200 block of Bowman
Avenue. The three grows net police 923 plants with a street value of about
$1.5 million.