Pubdate: Sun, 14 Mar 2004
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2004 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.fyiwinnipeg.com/winsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: David Schmeichel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

WHY ALL THE FUSS?

Unfair To Be Targeted, Says Grow Op Suspect

A man detained in connection with the city's latest drug bust says he can't 
understand what all the fuss is about. "I didn't do anything wrong," said 
the man, who identified himself only as Don. "I didn't hurt anyone."

The Sun caught up with the man as he finished loading a U-Haul van outside 
149 Foxmeadow Dr. in Lindenwoods yesterday.

The house was the scene of an RCMP drug bust on Friday afternoon, where 
officers seized 200 plants and 28 hydroponic lamps from a marijuana grow 
operation.

In a brief but animated conversation, Don expressed his frustration over 
the raid, claiming it's unfair that grow operations are targeted by police 
while governments reap the rewards of gambling and liquor sales.

Don said he's due to appear in court in May.

"You can drink or do other things, sometimes people like to smoke," said 
Don, who started renting the house in October. "Money comes from gambling, 
why do they have that right? ... I think that's not fair ... to just keep 
after people."

An RCMP spokesman told media on Friday that the bust uncovered a fairly 
elaborate operation with an intricate ventilation system.

The home's second-floor exterior was marred by yellowish-brown spots near 
the vents.

LATEST IN A STRING

The RCMP confirmed an adult who was at home at the time of the raid was 
taken into custody. Further details were not made available yesterday.

Friday's bust was the latest in a string of grow operations discovered in 
affluent Winnipeg neighbourhoods in recent weeks.

While residents of those areas typically seem shocked or surprised to learn 
drugs are being cultivated in their midst, neighbours on Foxmeadow Drive 
had apparently been tipped off by police beforehand.

"The police have been making inquiries around the neighbourhood for a 
while," said Robert Sly, who's lived next to the house in question for 18 
years.

"They've been saying, 'What do you know about this house? What's with the 
brown spots (near the vents)?' They said (the spots) were indicative of 
excess humidity, which was probably indicative of a grow operation."

Sly knows the home's most recent tenants moved in last October, but said 
he's never spoken with the residents.

And while he's not thrilled that his young daughter tried trick-or-treating 
there last fall, he said he's not overly concerned about his home's 
proximity to a crime scene.

"It happens everywhere," he said. "I wish it didn't, but it does. I wish I 
didn't live beside a grow operation, but these things are everywhere. What 
are you going to do?"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom