Pubdate: Wed, 06 Sep 2006
Source: Comox Valley Record (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Comox Valley Record
Contact:  http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/784
Author: Angie Poss
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

POLICE SEARCHING FOR DOPE WITH EYE IN THE SKY

Anyone growing marijuana outdoors in the Cowichan  Valley may want to
look up, way up.

RCMP and Canadian Forces helicopters from CFB Comox are  taking to the
skies as part of an Island-wide project  to find and destroy outdoor
drug operations.

Officers working on the project have already dismantled  a 100-plant
grow operation on Crown land on northern  Vancouver Island as a result
of air patrols.

Keen eyes in the sky and a lucky flight path led to the  end of an
outdoor marijuana grow operation in Mill Bay  in July. A police
helicopter on its way from Comox to  Oak Bay's centennial celebration
spotted a suspicious  shade of green near Kilmalu Road and more than
500 pot  plants were later found on the property.

The annual project helps police find outdoor grow  operations they may
not otherwise be able to find  because they are concealed from the
ground or in such  remote locations.

The Saanich Police Department and Victoria Police  Department are also
part of the project.

"These helicopters are everywhere. Are they coming to  the Cowichan
Valley? They are everywhere," said  Constable Darren Lagan.

Formerly of the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment,  Lagan is now
working out of Nanaimo with the RCMP Drug  and Organized Crime
Awareness Service.

Along with fuelling organized crime, outdoor marijuana  production can
have serious consequences for the  environment, said Lagan, including
diverted streams for  irrigation, the use of fertilizers and
pesticides and  garbage.

"The impact this illegal activity has on our  communities goes beyond
its resulting supply of street  level drugs, to include environmental
damage and  destruction," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek