Pubdate: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 Source: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, CN NK) Copyright: 2011 Brunswick News Inc. Contact: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact Website: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2878 Author: Jennifer Pritchett, Telegraph-Journal MOUNTIES BEGIN LISTING BUSTED MARIJUANA GROW OPS ON WEBSITE New Brunswick is among the first group of provinces included in a new online RCMP database listing the locations of marijuana grow operations that police have busted. Launched this week, the RCMP website is available to the public and is comprised of information from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada, as well as data from six other provinces. It provides the addresses of the grow-ops that have been shut down and the number of plants that police seized. New Brunswick RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guy Paul Larocque said the website is part of the RCMP's plan to educate the public about the dangers of marijuana grow operations and the criminal history of certain properties. "Wherever they exist, there's always a potential for increased criminal activity and a greater chance for fire, explosions and even violence on top of great economic costs," he said. The RCMP says grow-ops pose a whole host of health and safety hazards, including mould inside buildings where marijuana is grown and increased fire risk. "It's to serve to inform the Canadian public about the consequences and the destructive impact these criminal groups have on their communities," said Larocque. Dwayne Hayes, president of the New Brunswick Real Estate Association, said the public disclosure of such information is also positive for potential homebuyers because it assists them with readily finding out "which properties were used in the past as grow operations." Several municipal police forces across Canada, including Ottawa, London and Winnipeg, have similar data bases. The RCMP website is part of the force's new national marijuana strategy, which is aimed at cracking down on the number of illegal drug operations across the country. For New Brunswick, the online database currently lists 11 residential locations where the RCMP shut down marijuana grow ops in 2010 and so far in 2011. With the exception of one grow op in an outbuilding, all were located inside residences in a variety of locations across the province. The marijuana seized in them ranged in size from 75 plants to 561 plants, which police removed from a home located at 2095 Route 950 in Petit-Cap east of Moncton along the Northumberland Strait. The latest grow-op shutdown in New Brunswick took place on Thursday when police busted an illegal operation inside a house and outbuildings on Grey Road in Saint-Charles in Kent County. No arrests have been made so far in that case. During August and September alone, the RCMP shut down dozens of marijuana grow operations in Kent and Northumberland counties. The Co-ordinated Marijuana Enforcement Team (CMET) and the Department of Public Safety's Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement Unit, seized more than 7,500 marijuana plants from outdoor grow operations on public and private land. Police estimate that once mature, the plants could have produced more than 3.5 million joints. While the locations of those grow-ops will likely end up on the new data base, they haven't yet been made public because investigations are continuing, said Sgt. Jeff Johnston of Kent County. He said marijuana operations remain a big problem in New Brunswick and some of that activity is linked to organized crime. "Obviously, there is some organized crime in New Brunswick and it has links to organized crime in areas not limited to Canada," he said. Johnston said citizens themselves have to remain vigilant about the possibility that properties in their own neighbourhoods could be operating as grow-ops. He urges citizens to report suspicious activity to police. "No part of New Brunswick is immune from grow operations," he said. "There have been seizures throughout the province." Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or www.crimenb.ca . - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.