SEPT. 23 - BAD DAY FOR POT DEALER

Sept. 23 must be Michel Robert Laurin's unlucky day.

On Sept. 23, 1999, Laurin and several other Manitobans were busted by
the RCMP for running huge marijuana grow operations in the southwest
corner of the province.

Yesterday -- exactly three years later -- the 55-year-old Vita
resident pleaded guilty to theft of hydro over $5,000 and possession
of dope for the purpose of trafficking.

Federal Crown attorney Ann Krahn said Laurin was found with more than
5,500 plants in a barn near Vita. His sentencing hearing was adjourned
until later this year for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

RCMP officers seized 8,373 plants during 1999's Operation Deflower --
an investigation that culminated in several raids on grow operations
near Vita and Gimli.

The 2,500-pound haul, which police said was worth an estimated $5
million on the street, was described as Manitoba's largest one day
seizure of weed.

Police at the time said Laurin's indoor operation was the largest of
all those raided.

Earlier this year, 54-year-old Robert Larochelle and Randall Mark
Batters, 44, were handed conditional sentences for their lower-level
roles in the illegal marijuana grows.