Pubdate: Tue, 2 Sep 2008 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Ethan Baron, The Province Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise public figures or officials. NINE MEN FACE POT-TRAFFICKING CHARGES Tips From Residents Fed-Up With Drug-Related Crime Helped, RCMP Say Nine men -- three of them brothers -- are to appear in court next week charged with growing and trafficking pot after Mounties seized more than 45,000 plants from eight properties in the rural community of Likely. Tips from the public were a significant contributor to the police case against the accused, said Williams Lake RCMP Cpl. Marc Menard. "The people are fed up," he said. "They don't want to tolerate this any more." With the city's drug problem driving the crime rate to the highest per-capita level in B.C., residents are keen to provide information to police, Menard said. Drugs have become an in-your-face issue in Williams Lake, with gangs intimidating citizens and users stealing to feed their habits, said Coun. Tom Barr. "The general consensus is we've had it up to our necks -- hooligans running around and scaring people and giving no thought to anyone else," said Barr, whose beer and wine store has been hit by thieves two dozen times in the past three years. "The police are doing a hell of a job catching quite a few of them. I think one of the problems that we have is they're turned loose right away." The pot seizures in Likely, a 45-minute drive from Williams Lake, occurred between November 2006 and November 2007. Slated to appear in Williams Lake Provincial Court on Sept. 10 are [redacted]. Police say the nine are members of an organized crime group. If a conviction is secured, the Mounties will seek to have the properties associated with the grow-ops forfeited to the Crown. "You take their money, you take their dope, you take their properties away," Menard said. "It's got to have some impact." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake