Pubdate: Sat, 28 May 2005
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2005 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Jason Bell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/grow+operations

WEBSITE TRACKS HOMES' GROW-OP HISTORIES

Includes Two Big City Busts This Week

Winnippers can now track the locations of marijuana grow-operation
busts in the city.

City police, with the help of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board, have set
up a web page listing 29 addresses where pot farms have been
discovered this year.

They include two large pot busts in the last few days.

Early yesterday morning, police seized 900 marijuana plants with an
estimated street value of $1 million from a home at 2176 Grant Ave. in
Tuxedo.

At about 6 p.m. Thursday evening, police found 500 plants valued at
$700,000 at 18 Hidden Valley Cove in the Island Lakes area. A man and
woman in their 50s face charges of trafficking and the cultivation of
marijuana.

Sgt. Andy Golebioski of the Winnipeg Police Service said the new web
page should help real estate agents and buyers interested in the
history of some homes. "I regularly receive these calls... especially
from people who are interesting in purchasing houses. With the
attention that's been given to (grow operations), people's interest
and awareness has been heightened."

Golebioski said making the addresses public will encourage property
owners to be more aware of what's going on in the homes they rent out.

"We find that property owners can be legitimately duped by people who
rent from them and then turn the house into a grow operation," he
said. "Unfortunately, what we find as well is they have turned a blind
eye to the activities for the sake of getting the rent income."

Realtors have a legal obligation to tell clients about structural
flaws in homes. That includes damage caused by the hot, humid
greenhouse conditions needed to grow marijuana plants indoors.

The list of marijuana city grow operations discovered so far this year
can be accessed by searching the general Winnipeg Police Service
website at http://www.winnipeg.ca/police. The list will be updated on a
bi-weekly basis.

Ruthe Penner, president of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board, said the
list gives buyers another tool to be informed about the home they are
considering buying. "Homes can be stigmatized by different things...
and we talk about that all the time," she said. "People need to know
what they are moving into. Some people could be completely
uncomfortable with what has happened with the history, and others
could be OK with it."

"When it comes to a grow operation, the integrity of the home can be
compromised, and that's the issue."

Patrol Sgt. Kelly Dennison said yesterday marijuana grow operations
have been popping up in all areas of the city.

"This isn't a crime restricted to just lower-income areas," he
said.

"The criminal element is looking for anonymity. They'll go where it's
easy to stay out of sight."

Residents near the home on Grant Avenue said yesterday that was
definitely the case.

"It's the kind of street where people basically keep to themselves.
It's a very quiet area," said Joe Taylor, who lives just three houses
down.

"I'm absolutely shocked this happened here. I never saw anyone coming
or going... never a lineup of cars or anything like that."

Taylor remembered seeing the couple walking a dog a few times but
hadn't spoken to them. Another neighbour said he wasn't even aware
police had raided a nearby home.

"I had no idea anything unusual was going on," said John Goodwin.
"This is quite a surprise. You read about these things being found,
but you don't expect it to be here... that close to home.

"I'm just happy they've been apprehended."

Police say there are many tell-tale signs of grow ops.

They include electrical panels that have been tampered with, signs of
mould and rot, the presence in a home of heavy concealing window
drapes and dark circular stains on basement floors that could have
been created by marijuana pots.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin