CAPE BRETON DRUG TRADE BLOSSOMING SAY REGIONAL POLICE

Details on Cape Breton's growing drug trade were revealed during a police
commission meeting in Sydney Tuesday.

During the session, the street crime unit of the Cape Breton Regional
Police Service presented its intelligence report on a marijuana growing
investigation it conducted between July and October.

Commission members were told local marijuana is of such a high grade it
could soon rival pot grown on the West Coast.

"Because of the way they're growing it, the quality of plants are
phenomenal," said Chief Edgar MacLeod.

He said local weed has a high amount of the compound THC, the chemical that
gives pot its "buzz."

The commissioners were also told, "marijuana is developing into the soft
drug of choice over hashish and hash oil. The price of local marijuana
(about $20 a gram) remains high which, attributes to the quality of the
local market."

The large amounts of money generated from the high-quality pot is causing
police problems in their efforts to battle the local drug trade.

The report said profits, "allow for local dealers to purchase high-tech
equipment, large areas of secluded properties and several modes of vehicles
to travel to isolated areas to produce their crops."

Police are also fearing the money will go toward purchasing trained dogs,
weapons and booby traps to keep officers at bay, as has been done in other
parts of Canada.

Some information revealed in the report:

- - Several new informants were recruited by street crime unit officers. This
will allow for successful operations in the future.

- - Dealers are producing splitters to use in their growing operation.
Splitters are used to hook up to the lighting system. This reduces the
amount of power used by the growing lights making it more difficult to
locate growers through the power commission.

- - Dealers are using cloning methods instead of growing plants from seeds.
This produces a faster turnover in crop production and a higher-grade
marijuana plant.

- - Growers are using the Internet to obtain information on growing methods
from around the world. They can also purchase up-to-date equipment and
growing supplies.

- - Marijuana growers are using isolated areas of Cape Breton such as Iona,
Little Narrows and Baddeck to grow large crops which often go undetected
for years.

- - Dealers are purchasing animal hair - mostly dog hair - from local pet
groomers to spread along the perimeter of the crop to prevent wild animals
from eating the buds off plants.

Some areas officers targeted during the investigation were East Bay to
Sydney River, including Meadows Road and Morley Road, Grand Mira North and
South, Gabarus highway, Campbelldale Road in Gabarus, Westmount, South Bar,
Kaneville Road in New Victoria, Trout Brook Road, Campbell's Road and Ben
George Road in Mira, Reserve Mines, Donkin, Sydney, Grand Narrows and Iona.

There were charges laid Aug. 30, another seven charges Sept. 6, four Sept.
21, seven Sept. 16, five Sept. 17 and four Oct. 3.

During the operation, plants and equipment valued at $10,180 were seized
from an operation on Centreville Road. Upward of $9,600 worth of plants and
equipment was seized from Bentinck Street in Sydney. Weed valued at $45,000
was seized from an operation in North Sydney and plants valued at $42,000
were nabbed by police in the County of Cape Breton area, plus another
$5,000 worth of equipment and plants at another operation in the same area.
In the Donkin area, a large quantity of marijuana and equipment was seized
valued at $23,500. There were also smaller quantities of plants seized
throughout Mira, New Victoria, Victoria Road in Sydney and Gabarus.

The total is about $155,000 worth of marijuana and growing equipment.