POT SEIZED IN HURON AND PERTH

Police across Canada went on the hunt for indoor marijuana growing
operations last week, and Operation Green Sweep made a mark in this area,
as over $800,000 of marijuana was seized in Huron and Perth Counties.

According to a release from the Huron OPP, Perth and Huron County OPP
officers, along with OPP Drug Enforcement Section - London, Stratford City
Police Service, and Western Region ERT and Identification Unit executed two
warrants in Huron and Perth as part of the national Operation Green Sweep.

"A total of 805 marijuana plants were seized with an estimated value of
$805,000, along with $70,000 in growing equipment and a vehicle," the
release stated.

Although the official day for Operation Green Sweep was Jan. 30, Senior
Constable Don Shrophsall, Community Services Officer for the Huron OPP,
said the police had to move in quickly on one site in Belgrave, and took
down that operation on Jan. 23.

The OPP release states that on that date, police were involved in a drug
operation taking place in Belgrave, and on the evening of Jan. 23, there
was an unusual amount of traffic at the house under surveillance. The
police took a plate number of a 1990 Mazda van leaving the residence, and
stopped the vehicle in Clinton at about 8:45 p.m.

"Officers found two males inside the van and several green plastic bags in
the back section of the vehicle," the OPP release states. "One of the bags
was split and a green leafy material, suspected cannabis marijuana, was
located.

"A search turned up 266 plants and some growing equipment in the vehicle.
The two men inside the vehicle were arrested and taken to the Huron OPP
Detachment."

With a search warrant, the police entered the Belgrave home and found an
additional 170 plants growing.

"In total the officers seized 436 plants valued at $436,000 plus $18,000
worth of growing equipment and the van was seized in the process," the
release states.

Two men, a 46-year-old from Toronto and a 24-year-old Finland man, face
several charges, including possession for the purpose of trafficking,
production of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance,
possession of property over $1,000 and breaching recognizance.

Shrophsall noted that grow houses are becoming more of a problem in Huron
County. Where once police found many illegal plants growing outdoors, much
marijuana is now being grown indoors, he said.

He made note of the number of grow houses police have raided in Huron
County, including the seizure of almost $100,000 worth of marijuana from a
Winter Court residence just before Christmas.

Aside from the recent Belgrave find, he said in the last little while
another grow house was found in that village, as were one just outside
Wingham, two in Howick Township, one in both Ashfield and Colborne
Townships, two in Exeter, one in Hensall, and one in each of Stephen and
Hay Townships.

Marijuana growers have made many advancements in the potency of their
products. The active ingredient in the plants, or the part which gives the
high, is THC, and Shropshall noted that in some of the plants seized from
homes in Huron County, the THC level has been 25 per cent. "Back in the
'60s, it was three per cent," he said.