Pubdate: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Chilliwack Times Contact: http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357 Author: Mike Chouinard, Staff Writer Video 1: Biggest pot bust ever: http://player.theplatform.com/ps/player/pds/driSpITsER?pid=1QUXCTz8x44cq_MZY4yqe4fgRDZv4LbG Video 2: Cst. Shane Holmquist-Drug Section: http://player.theplatform.com/ps/player/pds/driSpITsER?pid=DbL13Nta4JihcGeM_prWNKVxU1MJvnpc Video 3: Cpl. Lea-Anne Dunlop-Communications Officer: http://player.theplatform.com/ps/player/pds/driSpITsER?pid=YDa2oYXS3_Hp5DugWXUDrUBVOTD_aTt9 BIGGEST POT BUST EVER More Than 11,000 Plants Valued At $3 Million Found Above ground, a Quonset hut at rural Nixon Road property near Chilliwack looked like just another out-building, but what it concealed below was anything but ordinary. The hut marked an entrance to an underground bunker, which held a marijuana growing operation that Chilliwack RCMP are calling the biggest one they have ever busted, with more than 11,000 plants. Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Lea-Anne Dunlop said she could recall a bust about five years ago that, with about 10,000 plants, was almost as large but far less complex. "It wasn't really as sophisticated as this one," she told the Times. "This is definitely the largest, most sophisticated." Members of the Chilliwack RCMP Crime Reduction Unit and general duty officers, assisted by the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team, executed a search warrant at the underground bunker on a property at the 7600 block of Nixon Road on Wednesday at approximately 8 a.m. There they found the operation, which contained 11,520 plants. Police say a conservative estimate of the value of the crop is at least $3 million. To protect these plants, the operators had built an elaborate security system, which included rigging a couple of entrances to shoot bear spray at intruders. "It was certainly fortified and rigged," Dunlop said. There was also a sub-floor built to conceal an elevator-style hydraulic lift that allowed for access to the bunker, and inside the bunker, there were four separate growing rooms. The operators had video cameras in the bunker with monitors running into an adjacent residence on the property. Police arrested one person who was at the residence at the time. They say the man is not known to them for previous criminal activity. No one has been charged yet, and investigators cannot confirm any links to organized crime at this time. However, police think more people are probably involved because of the scale of the operation. "The level of sophistication involved would suggest more people," Dunlop said. The site also was taking a toll on the surrounding environment, as police say there were chemicals spilled at the site that had been used in the grow-op. The effects on the soil are not yet known. As well, the operators had run an irrigation line from nearby Elk Creek, a fish-bearing stream, and were pumping water to supply the grow-op. Water was not the only thing the operation was siphoning illegally. Police estimate that based on the amount of time they believe the grow-op was in business, it probably consumed more than $400,000 of stolen hydro electric power. Work will now begin to mitigate some of the environmental damage at the site. "We're trying to put everything back the way nature intended," Dunlop said. Chilliwack RCMP are working with the City of Chilliwack, the Chilliwack Fire Department, BC Hydro, and others, as well as the Ministry of the Environment to make sure the environmental damage is reversed and the site never reestablished as a grow-op. Police are asking the public for any information on suspicious activity in the area or any vehicles that could have been seen driving to or from the site. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chilliwack RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or online at www.chilliwackcrimestoppers.ca. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr