Source: Ottawa Sun Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaSun/home.htm Pubdate: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 2 BUSTED FOR $60M POT PLOT Drug investigators have smashed a hydroponic dope operation near Alfred capable of producing more than $60 million worth of pot a year. Two men face a variety of drug charges after a raid yesterday, the culmination of a three-month investigation targeting Eastern Ontario marijuana growers. Cops seized 1,400 pot plants with an estimated street value of more than $4 million. Sgt. Dave Dauphny of the RCMP said the lab was the "most sophisticated" narcs have seen in this part of the country, with the equipment alone valued at more than $100,000. "This was not a penny-ante thing, and it really shows the scope of the operation," Dauphny said. "This really is the wave of the future. These guys are providing grass all year round." A 44-year-old resident of the house and a 45-year-old male from Laplaine, Que., have been charged with trafficking of a controlled substance, cultivation of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking. They had a show cause hearing yesterday afternoon.