POLICE RAID YIELDS 520 POT PLANTS

KITCHENER -- The number of home-grown marijuana operations in
Waterloo Region could reach epidemic proportions if the community
doesn't take a stand against pot growers, says the head of the police
force's drug squad.

"Do citizens of Waterloo Region want to become another Vancouver? We
are headed that way, if we don't become more vigilant,'' said Staff
Sgt. Ray Massicotte of Waterloo regional police.

In the greater Vancouver area, there are about 7,000 indoor marijuana
operations, so many that police are having a hard time getting a
handle on them, said Massicotte.

So far, local police have busted about 60 people in drug raids
throughout the region. Police believe there are at least another 200
homes running indoor marijuana grow operations in the area.

Most of them are similar in design -- the plants are the same quality
and the growing equipment with its floor fans, high-wattage light
bulbs and umbrella-shaped reflectors are also the same.

And most of the front-line workers in the "criminal organization" are
Vietnamese, police say.

Sometimes, those arrested are families with children who live in the
home, while others rent the house and don't live permanently in the
home.

The homes seem to be two-storey houses with a double-car garage,
located in family neighbourhoods.

Yesterday, there was another such bust on Westforest Trail. The
four-bedroom, suburban home is in the Westheights area of Kitchener
where houses start at about $200,000.

By 7:30 a.m., officers with the drug squad were banging on the door.

Sitting in the living room was a 45-year-old female and a 47-year-old
male, both of Vietnamese descent. A six-year-old boy was also in the
house. Family and Children's Services took custody of the child.

The couple was charged with cultivating marijuana, possession for the
purpose of trafficking and theft of hydro. They were to appear in
bail court today.

On the front lawn of the house, police put up a sign that tells
passersby the house has been raided and asks people to call
Crimestoppers with tips.

Police found 520 marijuana plants growing in the basement of the
2,200-square-foot house. Each plant is valued at about $1,000, police
said. There were some starter plants on the top floor.

Officers dressed in protective suits, breathing apparatus and rubber
gloves carried the plants and about $15,000 worth of growing
equipment to a large rental truck. Workers with Kitchener-Wilmot
Hydro were also at the house.

"There are so many dangers in this house,'' said Massicotte,
referring to the fire hazards due to the bypassed hydro. "The ground
can be electrified and there is potential for shock.''

Massicotte said police need to continue to bust the pot-growing
operations, but the judicial system needs to give sentences that
reflect the seriousness of the crime.

Only a handful of those running the pot operations have appeared in
court. The first sentence got a 21-year-old man an 18-month
conditional sentence.

None of the charges has resulted in jail time.

Massicotte said the number of home grow operations continues to
proliferate because it is extremely profitable. "It's like operating
a franchise,'' he said.