COPS BUST GROW-OPS

Four RCMP searches later, the Merritt marijuana scene is 220 plants lighter.

Merritt RCMP were part of a national anti-marijuana grow-operation campaign
known as Operation Greensweep. According to local investigator Const. Duncan
Hewitt, the goal is to make the public aware of just how much of a problem
the marijuana grow-operations are, not just in the larger centers, but in
Merritt as well.

Hewitt estimated the 220 plants have a street value of between $15,000 to
$20,000, not including the equipment seized.

At one of the homes raided, "three individuals came from Kamloops to try
their luck at ripping off a grow, but were confronted by the resident and a
fight ensued with a knife being pulled."

The three would-be robbers didn't know the police had already seized the
marijuana.

The four searches under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act were
conducted on Seyom Crescent, the 1300-block of Parcel Street, the 700-block
of Coldwater Road, and the 400-block of Paige Street in Lower Nicola.

Currently, a Lower Nicola resident is facing charges of production of a
controlled substance and is to appear in provincial court in December.
Charges related to the other seizures and the bungled theft are pending.