Pubdate: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 Source: Daily Press, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 Daily Press (CN ON) Contact: http://www.timminspress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1001 Author: Heather Spadafore Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) POLICE SEIZE $20M IN POT A large drug bust in Matheson is the second to hit the area in the last few weeks. Police seized 18,000 marijuana plants on Aug. 5 in an outdoor grow operation, worth an estimated $20 million, and two Toronto men are facing drug-related charges. Members of the Ontario Provincial Police as well as a K-9 unit executed a search at 1020 Hislop Rd. in Hislop Township. They found more than 18,000 plants in various stages of growth, ranging from two feet to four feet high. Police also seized a tractor, furrow, pump, hoses and hand implements, worth about $45,000. Xian Zhao Li, 39, of Markham, Ont. and Han Chu Hu, 39, of Toronto are charged with production of a controlled substance, namely Cannabis Marijuana, contrary to Section 7 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. They are in custody and will attend a bail hearing today in Timmins. Just a few weeks earlier, on July 25, the OPP seized 21,000 plants in Iroquois Falls. It is considered the largest seizure in Ontario. A man from Scarborough was charged in that offence. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin