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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Canada: Toronto police make massive marijuana bust
Katie Rook, CanWest News Service National Post
Saturday 27 Jan 2007 TORONTO -- A skunk scent lingering around a Toronto home for the last two years roused the suspicions of one neighbour who Friday said he was not surprised the red-brick bungalow was one of 39 homes raided in a massive marijuana grow operation bust. Eleven people have been arrested since Monday in connection with the ring, which Toronto police allege moved $25 million worth of marijuana between Canada and the United States, and was centralized out of two Toronto-area businesses. Industrial warehouses in Toronto and Mississauga, Ont., provided seeds and growing equipment for suspects to grow hundreds - and in some cases thousands - of marijuana plants, police claimed Friday. Partnering with the RCMP and area police forces, Toronto police first began investigating the scheme, believed to involve money laundering, about nine months ago. Police recovered 25,776 marijuana plants during raids on homes and apartments, many clustered in Scarborough, Ont., Staff Insp. Don Campbell said Friday. More than $27,000 cash, including American currency, was seized, he said, adding that at least nine more arrests are expected. The announcement came following a morning meeting between police and city officials about how to best manage communication between authorities and all three levels of government as grow operations proliferate the GTA. Within the first 23 days of January, Toronto police dismantled 21 grow operations, Campbell said. Agincourt-Scarborough Coun. Michael Del Grande declined to comment Friday, but Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis called for the implementation of tougher sentences for those convicted of drug-related crimes. "I have asked for stricter sentences, and I will be presenting a motion in the House of Commons as soon as we go back next week that reflects, if you do the crime, you pay the time. Basically, you're in my area, you grow pot, I am going to throw the book at you," Karygiannis said. Campbell pleaded with Torontonians to report homes they believe could be acting as grow-ops. "What's disturbing is a lot of this is going on and we don't have the information coming to us," he said. "These operations are quite dangerous. They're altering the structure of the house, the ventilation. It's not `if' a fire is going to take place. It's `when' a fire is going to take place." The investigation, dubbed Project OClone, involved American authorities because, police allege, much of the marijuana was being distributed in the U.S. "Canada is now the main producer of marijuana going to the United States," Campbell said. Torontonians Thi An (Anna) Bui, 40, Van Nguyen Cong, 44, Doan Cu Huynh, 55, Hon Cheng, 49, Thai Dang, 29, Mei Zheng, 29, Huong Thi Nguyen, 43, Tam Thi Tran, 48, Mei Chen, 29, Zhi Ming Huang, 45 and Dung Le, 43 face 52 drug-related charges. Northwest of the city near Uxbridge, Ont., York regional police seized about $1 million worth of marijuana from a home. A family was arrested and a baby was removed from the home. krook@nationalpost.com http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=0d2673ab-896d-4ffe-8fc8-c6a3dd1e906c&k=81784
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