EXPLODED TRANSFORMER LED TO POT GROW-OP

Refusing to pay his gas bill has cost an Old Kildonan resident more than $1
million in potential revenue and set him up for a probable criminal record.

The unidentified man lost more than 900 marijuana plants Wednesday night
when police raided a house at 100 Commonwealth Ave.

'SOPHISTICATED'

"It was a very sophisticated operation," said Staff Sgt. Al Scott.

Police were alerted by Manitoba Hydro officials after a neighbourhood
transformer exploded, said Scott.

A repair crew traced the trouble to the grow operation, which needed a
large amount of heating electricity after Centra disconnected the gas for
nonpayment. The power surge apparently knocked out the transformer, police
said.

The plants were in three growth stages ranging from young to ready for harvest.

The bust was the largest marijuana haul this year in Winnipeg, said police.
Marijuana has been replaced by cocaine, especially crack, as the illegal
drug of choice in the city.

Last month, police seized 10 kilograms of cocaine from a 23-year-old B.C.
woman as she stepped off a bus from Vancouver. The coke had an estimated
street value of $800,000.

The biggest bust of the year occurred last April when police grabbed 17
kilograms of high-grade cocaine. The stash, seized from a rental shed in
the North End, had an estimated street value of $1.3-million.