RAIDS PUT DENT IN BUDDING CRIME

Ottawa police raided a half dozen homes yesterday as part of a national
crackdown on indoor marijuana-growing operations.

"We could have done more than six today but we don't have the resources,"
said Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan.

Police said there are probably another 50-200 of the operations in the city.

Across the country, about 500 officers executed 139 search warrants and
seized 47,000 plants as part of Operation Green Sweep. Police arrested 136
people and 28 children were found in houses where the plants were being grown.

In Ottawa, officers seized more than 1,300 plants and thousands of dollars
in growing equipment.

Hull police raided one home, arresting one man and seizing 100 plants.

Public Relations Effort

The operation was as much public relations effort as it was drug
eradication project.

Police are hoping to raise public awareness that a new breed of drug
dealers have sprouted up in nice neighbourhoods and are turning residential
homes into marijuana factories.

In Ottawa, officers picked homes throughout the city to show that indoor
grows have moved into non-traditional areas.

Bevan said the homes pose a fire hazard because many operators crudely
reroute hydro. There is also a concern about the amount of crime taking
place in upscale neighbourhoods, including feuding drug gangs who rob each
other.

"We've seen a sharp increase in the number of home invasions," said Bevan.