COPS WEED OUT DRUGS

Raids Net Nearly $4m Worth Of Plants

Another wave of marijuana raids has rippled through the capital, with
police dismantling a dozen more grow operations.

Police in Ottawa raided 12 homes between mid-April and Wednesday and seized
what they say is more than $3,675,000 worth of pot plants.

The raids were the second phase of a national drug eradication operation
dubbed "Project Greensweep," which targeted marijuana grow operations from
Cape Breton to Vancouver. Across the country, police confiscated 60,128
plants with an estimated street value of more than $60 million.

"These are purely profit-motivated organized drug production operations,"
said Ottawa police drug unit Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault.

Twelve people were arrested and charged with a variety of offences,
including possession for the purpose of trafficking, cultivation of
cannabis marijuana, theft of hydro and proceeds of crime. Police also
recovered weapons such as Tasers and knives from some of the houses. Young
children lived inside several of the homes police raided.

DANGEROUS OPERATIONS

"There are many dangers associated with these operations and it's only a
matter of time before someone here in this city gets seriously hurt," said
Pinault.

At one grow operation on Britannia St., one occupant suffered burns to his
hands and back by a fire caused while he extracted oil from discarded parts
of marijuana plants.