COPS RAID SIX MORE POT HOUSES

Drug police shut down six marijuana grow houses in Waterloo Region
yesterday, including four in the Hespeler and Galt areas of Cambridge.

That brings to six the number of pot houses raided in the city in less
than two weeks, netting police about $4-million worth of marijuana.

It was a busy day for police services nationwide. In what police have
dubbed Operation Green Sweep, more than 500 officers stormed 160
similar marijuana grow operations across the country, seizing
$50-million worth of pot.

"It was all part of a multi-jurisdictional operation we've been
working on for about a month," said Staff Sergeant Ray Massicotte,
head of the Waterloo Regional Police drug squad.

The goal is to curtail the ever-increasing number of home-grow
businesses in operation in communities across Canada, including
Waterloo Region, Guelph, Brantford and Toronto.

After a briefing at regional police headquarters at 7 a.m. yesterday,
about 45 drug police, members of the emergency response unit and
Cambridge patrol began executing warrants at four addresses in
Cambridge and two in Kitchener.

The houses were raided one after the other, with the assistance of
heavily armed tactical officers carrying loaded automatic rifles. By
noon it was over except for the paperwork. In total at the six houses
more than 2,000 marijuana plants were seized, along with $90,000 worth
of growing equipment and $1,800 in cash.

Four adults - two men and two women - were arrested and are awaiting
court hearings today where they will be formally charged with theft of
hydro and drug possession and cultivation. Four young children ranging
in age from two to six years were taken into custody by Family and
Children Services of Waterloo Region.

"No kids should ever have to live like this," said Cambridge
Superintendent Steve Hibbard.

Inside 16 Beasely Cres. Hibbard saw toys belonging to two of the
children sitting next to powerful transformers used in the marijuana
growing operation.

One wrong move and a child could have been electrocuted, he
said.

In addition to the electrical dangers associated with the high-voltage
growing equipment used in these operations, Hibbard said children
living in pot houses are exposed to toxic mold that grows on drying
marijuana plants and to cancer-causing chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

To date Family and Children Services has placed 15 children in foster
care since the first drug house raids in June 2000. Some have been
returned to relatives or a parent who is not facing criminal charges.

In addition to raiding 16 Beasely Cres., police seized marijuana
plants and growing equipment from 122 Moffatt Dr., 39 Peregrine Dr.
and 34 Memory Lane in Cambridge, and 15 Sabrina Cres. and 50 Wedgewood
Dr. in Kitchener. Arrests were made at 16 Beasely and 15 Sabrina and
two children taken into care at each home. The remaining homes were
empty, however police are continuing to investigate and more charges
could be laid.

While the houses raided yesterday varied from modest $130,000
bungalows to upscale two-storey $250,000 homes with double-car
garages, they had one thing in common. The basements, and sometimes
the main floor, had been converted into hydroponic gardens and all had
been crudely rewired to bypass the hydro meter.

Huge lamps used in the marijuana grows draw up to 10 times the amount
of electricity as a normal home, a signal to cops who routinely
monitor usage.

On average, a single grow home uses $1,000 worth of electricity a
month which is not paid for - a loss that is recouped by raising
energy prices.

The mix of crude wiring and high-voltage lamps have sparked two fires
in the region, including one on Scott Road - around the corner from
Memory Lane where police carried out armful after armful of mature
marijuana plants almost ready for harvest yesterday.

A botched bypass in a grow-house at 66 The Greenway is blamed for
overloading the system and leaving 126 neighbours without power for up
to 14 hours on Dec. 23.

Hydro officials and firefighters now routinely accompany police on
their raids to ensure the properties are safe before they are searched.

A propane-stove connection inside 122 Moffatt Dr. had to be checked
before anyone was allowed inside the modest brown brick home in south
Galt. Police were kept out of 34 Memory Lane after a high-level of
carbon monoxide was detected inside.

Carbon monoxide "is an explosive as well as a health hazard," said
Platoon Chief Roy Turner.

The raised bungalow had to be ventilated before it could be safely
searched, he said.

"It's scary," said Debbie Aplin, who lives across the street from 34
Memory Lane.

"When I saw the police arrive this morning, I began to worry about
booby traps and guns. I scooted my kids inside the house until they
said it was safe."

It was a little over two years ago that a pot house around the corner
on Scott Road went up in flames.

"I don't want these things in my neighbourhood," Aplin
said.

Like most of the 77 pot houses raided in Waterloo Region over the last
two years, 34 Memory Lane is on a quiet residential street filled with
young families.

Neighbour John Moore, who moved into his Memory Lane house six months
ago, noticed 34 Memory Lane go up for sale and be sold but never saw
anyone move in.

"I never really saw anyone, ever. There was no moving truck. I never
really thought much about it until now. Now I know why," Moore said.