Pubdate: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Amy O'Brian, CanWest News Service POLICE SWOOP NETS A TONNE OF POT VANCOUVER -- Nearly one tonne of marijuana has been seized from houses and warehouses in B.C. and Ontario that are linked to an Asian organized crime ring, Vancouver police said Wednesday. The Organized Crime Agency of B.C. -- along with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Vancouver police department -- executed 15 search warrants Monday and seized nearly $4 million worth of marijuana likely destined for the United States, Const. Anne Drennan said. Three weapons, including two semi-automatic pistols and one machine pistol, were seized from a residence in Burnaby and $1.3 million was seized in total from the 15 locations hit during the bust. The drugs were being shipped by rail to Ontario, where drug-handlers find it easier to get across the border with illegal substances, Drennan said. Of the 15 warrants, 14 were executed in B.C. while one was executed in Ontario. In B.C., police searched one warehouse in Richmond and 13 residences in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby and Surrey. Eight people were arrested, including some that Drennan said are known to police. All of the marijuana seized -- 1,550 pounds, or 705 kilograms -- was grown at indoor grow operations around the Lower Mainland. Drennan said that while the amount of drugs seized is significant, the more substantial accomplishment is the interruption of an organized distribution system. "There is no question that this will make a dent (in the drug trade)," she said. "Not just in terms of the amount of drugs that were seized -- although that too was fairly significant -- but what we've done is interrupted a distribution process that was working extremely well for these people." Drennan said eight people face several serious charges, including firearms offences. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth