GENERATOR ATTRACTS GROW OP THIEVES

Generators are coveted items for illegal marijuana cultivators, says the
man in charge of the commissionaires who patrol the Woodlands site.

Master warrant officer Stan Floyd contacted The Record regarding an article
reporting the theft of a 25-kilowatt generator from the site on Nov. 16.

In the article, the police had reported that a commissionaire saw a white
pickup truck leaving the grounds pulling a trailer carrying the generator -
and had assumed the truck belonged to the film crew.

Floyd begs to differ. The film company had hired its own security guard to
watch over the equipment, he says.

"They put a guard down specifically looking at that equipment and somehow
it got missed by them ... There were a number of sites happening at the
same time and the guy might have been a few feet over - I'm not saying they
did a terrible job."

But Floyd wants the incident clarified as he says it's bad for morale when
the commissionaires receive a criticism they don't deserve.

Floyd notes that heavy-duty generators are a sought-after item for thieves
these days.

"They're a very popular item stolen from the film industry for grow ops,"
he says, noting that BC Hydro computers notice if someone is using
unusually large amounts of electricity.

"So they want these big expensive generators that whisper ... There's a run
on generators - and it's not just from the film industry."

Staff Sgt. Casey Dehaas of New Westminster police says it's quite possible
Floyd is right about why generators are stolen.

"I don't think we're aware that the one at Woodlands was stolen
specifically for that purpose but, hey, anything is possible. Criminals are
creative and it's been publicized widely that police look for Hydro use and
Hydro bypasses."