Police have raided three separate marijuana grow operations north of
Toronto in the last two weeks, seizing millions of dollars worth of the
drug and laying charges against 11 people.
The largest of the grow-operations was raided today.
Police
received a tip last month that a house on Prince of Wales Dr. in
Markham was being used to grow marijuana. After putting the house under
surveillance for a month, police obtained a search warrant and entered
it today.
Police said they found more than 1,300 plants. If
processed, police said the drugs could have been sold on the street for
approximately $1.3 million.
No one was living at the house, which was allegedly being used solely as a giant marijuana farm.
“Each
room in the house was used for something with the grow operation,” said
Const. Marina Orlovski of York Region police. “There was no one living
there or staying there.”
Three men were at the grow operation at the time, and police have arrested them all.
On
Wednesday, police raided a similarly-sized grow operation in a house on
Bloomington Rd. E. in the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville.
They found more than 1,200 marijuana plants, with a street value of approximately $1.2 million.
The
house was consuming more than five times the average amount of
electricity for a house its size, but someone had bypassed the hydro
monitor.
“I don’t think these (busts) are the biggest, but
they’re up there,” said Orlovski. “It’s great to find these huge grows
and making sure (the marijuana) is not available to anyone.”
In a smaller case last week, police raided an industrial unit on Killaloe Dr., near Jane St. and Hwy. 7 in Vaughan.
Police
said the unit, which was also being used as a storage space for an
electrical contractor, contained 95 marijuana plants and large
quantities of dried leaves and buds. In total, the drugs had an
estimated street value of $135,000.
Five people were found at the grow operation and arrested.
