HIGH-POWERED TOOL AGAINST GROW-OPS INTRODUCED

Marijuana growing operators will have to worry about more than police
starting this month.

The Public Safety Inspection Team are ready to set out, going to homes
that have been shown to consume an unusually large amount of
electricity.

The team will be made up of Township electrical safety inspectors, a
bylaw officer and RCMP members who will post notices on the doors of
homes that B.C.Hydro has shown to consume abnormal levels of
electricity.

The home owner then has 48 hours to allow an inspection. If the owner
refuses, the power to the home will be shut off, said police
spokesperson Cpl. Diane Blain.

"We will continue to do what we do, but will be working side by side
with this team in our enforcement efforts," she said.

And that's a good thing because Langley's homes are still busy growing
green.

According to recently-released Langley RCMP statistics, the Green Team
took down 57 grow-ops (47 in the Township and 10 in the City) in 2006.

This year, the pace of takedowns is similar. In 2007 to date, 17
grow-ops have been busted, 15 in the Township and two in the City.

Blain said police accompany the safety inspectors just to keep the
peace. But the Green Team is still up to its usual enforcement of
dismantling grow operations.

In Surrey, where this initiative was first tested almost 100 per cent
of the homes showing high consumption of power had grow operations,
said Blain.

However, some B.C. Bud growers in Langley have turned to expensive
generators to power their plant operations.

In a recent case, the generators tapped into the home's gas lines to
the street, causing a fire which had explosive potential.

In 2007, RCMP billed the Township $25,999 for dismantling grow-ops.

The Township is also billed by the fire department if their services
are also required. The Township then goes after the property owner to
recover those funds.