COPS TAKE KIDS IN DRUG RAID

Parents Of Toddler, Newborn Charged

A toddler and a newborn were apprehended by police Thursday under new
provincial legislation designed to protect children from families
involved in the drug trade.

The joint EPS/RCMP Green Team took down a marijuana grow operation at
9:15 a.m. in a home near 190 Street and 83 Avenue. Officers seized 210
marijuana plants, worth about $210,000, and arrested three adults.

A two-year-old boy and a six-week-old girl were inside the home at the
time and were taken into custody under the province's Drug Endangered
Children Act. It became law Nov. 1.

"Usually drugs and gangs and violence go hand in hand," said police
spokesman Karen Carlson in explaining how the children were
endangered. "They can (also) be exposed to the plants themselves or
any chemicals used in growing them."

The children's parents, a 34-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, as
well as a 26-year-old woman, were each charged with production of
marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking, and theft of
power.

Charges for wilfully causing a child to be drug endangered are being
considered, said police. If laid, Carlson said it would be a first in
Edmonton.

In a separate search warrant, police entered a home near 62 Avenue and
186 Street Thursday afternoon and found 592 marijuana plants valued at
$592,000.

Charges are pending against the residents of the home. They weren't
around at the time of the bust.