Pubdate: Sun, 19 Mar 2000 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2000 The Province Contact: 200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada Fax: (604) 605-2323 Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/ Author: Charlie Anderson, Staff Reporter The Province Raids Not Kidding When police swooped on 24 homes on Thursday, drugs, money and jewelry weren't the only things found and taken away. Seven kids were taken too. In all, 21 children were found at the marijuana-growing busts, with ages ranging from six months to 17 years. In addition to the seven apprehended by the children's ministry, who attended the raids with police, 10 kids were taken to family or friends of the suspects and four were left in the homes with adults who weren't arrested. Police arrested 18 men and 14 women in the various homes. Ministry spokeswoman Julia Northrup said officials had no idea how many children would be in the homes. "Our presence there was to determine if there were immediate safety concerns," said Northrup, "[and] if there were, that there was some kind of safety plan for the children." The raids bring to 40 the number of children apprehended from drug-bust homes since Feb. 1. The ministry didn't have at hand how many of the previous 33 have been returned to their parents. "We will assess their situation," said Northrup. "We may be returning the children; we may at a later date place the children with friends and relatives. It all depends on what comes out of further investigation." The raids -- in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey -- were conducted by 90 officers from various detachments, co-ordinated by the Organized Crime Agency of B.C. The raids stemmed from a Vancouver case last December and police believe the pot-growing operations "are linked to an organized crime group." Sgt. Randy Elliott of OCA said police discovered 2,127 marijuana plants, 94 pounds of packaged marijuana, and growing equipment with a total value of about $1.85 million. Also seized was $230,000 in stolen property and $45,000 in U.S. and Canadian bills. Ten of the operations were powered through bypassing B.C. Hydro. Vancouver police deputy chief John Unger acknowledged that police have a "huge problem" with marijuana-growing operations in the Lower Mainland and promised "extra officers" and a "much more rapid pace" in dealing with them. He also warned grow operators using the mostly rented homes to "pack up everything you have and move, because we will be taking you down." Unger said police would also be following up on landlords to remind them of their obligations to know whom they are renting to. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake