Cops Bust Clandestine Pot Operation Boasting 4,000 Plants
Posted August 22, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s being described as a major bust that could put a big dent in the marijuana distribution operations in the GTA.
Sometime after 8am Friday, undercover officers and other cops broke into an address at 154 Shorting Road near McCowan and Sheppard, and discovered as many as 4,000 pot plants in full bloom inside.
There have been no arrests yet, but police assure the area is safe for residents and workers.
Authorities are still trying to determine who owns the facility where the plants were located – and where they are now.
It’s the second week in a row that police have busted a grow op in an industrial complex.
The latest discovery took place across from the Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Centre, and right next door to the offices of a local church group.
“I saw greenery, bags and bags of greenery. And so, I think it’s really bad for the neighbourhood,” said the Centre’s Leela Singh.
“It was so quiet and we just took it for granted that there was nothing happening there because, you know, it’s all covered up,” said Frank Nuguid of Couples For Christ.
Law enforcement officials on both sides of the border say Canada is fast becoming the number one supplier of cannabis to the U.S. , and it’s being traded for guns that are ending up in the hands of gangsters on local streets.
“There is a huge demand here for U.S. guns,” reveals ATF Special Agent Regina Lombardo. “You know, we are no longer solely seeing straight firearms trafficking. I’ve been here three years now and I can tell you that every case that we’ve done has been in exchange for drugs.”
