Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jun 2013
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Kim Bolan

POT GROWERS FIND READY SUPPLY OF USED SHIPPING CONTAINERS

Would-be pot growers looking to set up an underground bunker like the 
one police raided in Langley this week have several places to 
purchase used shipping containers.

At least five Lower Mainland companies sell large steel containers 
like the five that had been turned into an interconnected growing 
chamber with 430 marijuana plants inside.

And there were also several listed for sale in local Craigslist ads 
Wednesday ranging in price from less than $2,000 up to $5,000.

One Surrey vendor charging $3,750 for an insulated "high cube" 
container suggested right in his ad title that a prospective buyer 
could "Grow your own Reefer!"

Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement 
Unit, said officers involved in searching the property in the 
27,000-block of 56 Avenue had never seen underground containers used 
as grow operations before.

And he said the condition of the structures, which were under about 
two feet of dirt, was so poor that the sides and the roof could have 
caved on the people and equipment inside.

"When they came out of the ground and you looked at them - they had 
been under there for a while, a few years - they are pretty rusted. 
It is even possible at some point that the roofs could have collapsed 
or the sides could have collapsed and the earth would have fallen in 
on the grow or the people working as the gardeners," Houghton said.

No one has yet been charged, but police said they believe the 
sophisticated operation is linked to the Hells Angels.

Aaron Kirkland, president of The Great Container Company in Port 
Coquitlam, said he's not surprised that pot growers are using 
shipping containers.

But he said most people who want the versatile containers use them 
for farm storage or on construction sites.

He has, however, dealt with some who hold medical marijuana licences 
who wanted to use shipping containers as secure grow operations.

"You know who the nefarious ones are because they are paying cash and 
they really have no interest in a receipt," he said.

Burying them underground is risky, he said, because their roofs are 
not constructed to hold tonnes of dirt.

"They are not designed for that at all. The roof doesn't have any 
strength to it. It is all on the four corner posts," Kirkland said.

An un-insulated 40-foot container sells for about $3,000, Kirkland said.

He estimates that the five main companies in the region - including 
his - sell between 50 and 80 containers a week.

They buy them from shipping lines who are replacing their stock.

"It comes down to the fact that every five years, they have to be 
recertified. So before the 10th year, they sell them off when they 
are still in decent condition," Kirkland said.

Tommy Dunn, accounts manager at Cratex Containers, said it is very 
easy to purchase used containers in B.C.

Cratex not only sells them, but also delivers and installs them if a 
customer wants that service, Dunn said.

"We have dropped them in the ground, up the side of mountains. There 
have been some interesting drops for sure," he said.

Dunn said he is aware that some with medical marijuana licences are 
using the containers for grow ops.

"We try not to ask too many questions," he said. "Does the guy at the 
hydroponic store ask you if you are growing tomatoes or pot when he 
is selling you the lights?"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom