NATIONAL POT BUST NETS 255

TORONTO -- Police across the country swooped down on home growers of
marijuana last month in a 15-day blitz that left 255 people facing drug
charges.

Between April 15 and 30, 208 search warrants were executed from coast to
coast and 369 drug charges were laid, police said yesterday.

Operation Greensweep 2, the second national blitz in three months, was
co-ordinated by the Ontario Provincial Police drug enforcement section.

In Ontario alone, 122 search warrants were executed and 125 people were
charged with a total of 234 drug offences.

The majority of the Ontario raids were in areas surrounding Toronto.

British Columbia had the next-highest number of raids at 49, with 39 of
them in the Vancouver area.

Police in Alberta (14 raids), Saskatchewan (two raids), Manitoba (two
raids), Quebec (17 raids) and Nova Scotia (two raids) also participated in
the crackdown on the home-grow operations.