Mounties shot -- Burgeoning Grow-ops & You -- Justice in the Bali Bombing?

Mounties shot

There are about 50,000 grow ops in Canada -- realizing about $20 billion in operations -- most shipped to USA -- some to your kids

Mounties shot in raid on grow operation Mar 3 2005 02:27 PM MST, CBC News

Rochfort Bridge, Alta – An unspecified number of RCMP officers have been shot and wounded in a situation that is being described as "very serious and very tragic" in a rural area northwest of Edmonton.

Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko confirmed that a shooting has occurred and that police have been unable to make radio contact with four RCMP officers on scene.

[. . . . ] Few other details are being released but Cenaiko confirmed RCMP officers were executing a search warrant on a suspected grow operation when a shooting occurred near Rochfort Bridge, about 130 km northwest of Edmonton.

[. . . . ] Sgt. Rick Oncescu, with the RCMP in Calgary, said two SWAT teams were called into the area. [. . . . ]

This is the Reality in Realty -- Do you think grow-ops don't affect you? Think again.

Grow-Op Homes Added To B.C. Disclosure Forms Jim Adair, Real Estate News and Advice, Published: February 26, 2004

Landlords who unwittingly allow their houses or condominiums to be used as illegal drug factories will have a tough time selling those properties in British Columbia. Grow homes have been added to the province's Property Disclosure Statements, which means sellers must declare that the homes have been used to grow marijuana or to manufacture illegal drugs. For new homes and condominiums, home warranties are being suspended for grow-op houses.

The province's Property Disclosure Statement, introduced in 1990, is a standard form that must be completed by the seller when the home is listed for sale. It asks questions about the condition of the property to help potential buyers make informed decisions. The new question on the form asks if the seller is aware if the property has ever been used as a marijuana grow operation or to manufacture illegal drugs.

[. . . . ]

How can you tell if there's a grow-op house in your neighbourhood? The Delta, B.C. police say to look for these tell-tale signs:

The house does not look lived in or residents are seldom seen (garbage is rarely put out to the curb).

The house windows are always covered to prevent the escape of bright hydroponic lights.

Heavy condensation can be seen on the windows.

There's a strange odour emanating from the house (pungent and skunky).

Humming noises, such as those made by a fan, are heard.

There's excessive vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic day or night at unusual hours

Related Articles:

Marijuana Houses a Growing Problem in Canada
Jim Adair, Published: January 16, 2003

Last month, two Toronto-area Realtors were arrested and accused of heading up a $35 million marijuana grow house operation. It's alleged that the Realtors leased client's dwellings for the purposes of setting up hydronic marijuana grow operations. An additional 37 people now face charges, mostly for cultivating and caring for the plants, but police say the two real estate professionals arrested were the leaders of the operation.

Growing marijuana in a home can be very profitable. Police estimate that each operation can produce about 1,600 plants a year and generate $1.6 million in profit.
Across Canada, police say there are more than 50,000 active grow houses. Most of them are in residential areas and the neighbours have no idea about what is happening next door. That's a big problem, says police, because grow houses are a serious danger to their communities. [. . . . ]

Police also say that because it costs operators $5,000 to $20,000 to set up a grow house, they often protect their investments by setting up "booby traps" to discourage intruders. [. . . . ]

You had better read the rest. There is plenty of information the average person would not even think of on this website.




Canadian Neighborhoods Threatened by Illegal "Grow Houses" PJ Wade

Ontario real estate professionals were cautioned in the July issue of the Ontario Real Estate Association newsletter, Realtor Edge, that they must "DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE!" when it comes to grow houses -- properties used in the illegal cultivation of marijuana. This warning highlights how much buyers and sellers have to risk in transactions concerning properties that will become, or have been, grow houses.

Recently, CBC News reported that grow house operations consume more than $500 million in stolen electricity each year in Ontario alone. These costs are added to the hydro bills of legitimate energy users
The Ontario Real Estate Association’s caution to its members should be understood by home buyers and sellers intent on avoiding hassles and legal complications when buying or selling real estate: [. . . . ]

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police estimates that the number of illegal grow-ops in this province has increased 250 per cent. Revenue could hit $12.7 billion

Switch off 'grow-ops' Electricity Forum News, The Toronto Star

TORONTO -- Indoor marijuana farms are sprouting like weeds across the Greater Toronto Area, requiring new strategies to root them out. Those strategies should include relaxing privacy rules that prevent electricity companies from blowing the whistle to police.

The public is at risk and the threat is escalating.

Indoor "grow-ops" pose a serious fire hazard. They fund organized crime. And the marijuana trade fuels gun violence in our streets.

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police estimates that the number of illegal grow-ops in this province has increased 250 per cent. Revenue could hit $12.7 billion.

News this week that a grow-op fitted with hazardous wiring had been set up through eight units of a Parkdale high-rise is only the latest warning sign. Police recently found Canada's largest indoor grow-op hidden in an old brewery in Barrie. [. . . . ]

Bashir guilty of Bali charges Mar. 3, 05, yahoo/The Age

Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir could be free before the end of next year after being jailed today for conspiring with the Bali bombers ahead of the deadly 2002 attack.

The two-and-a-half-year sentence handed down by an Indonesian court disappointed Australia and the United States, which insist he is a dangerous terror chief.

With time already served through the trial, Bashir, 66, might be released before the end of 2006. His lawyers, who claim he is old and frail, say they will appeal the verdict. [. . . . ]

People actually expected him to get off; they 'prayed' for it -- if there is a god to answer that kind of prayer. How can you reason with that kind of mind? Impossible!

Justice? It reminds me of a situation in Canada that did not result in death, but the 'justice' delivered was a travesty of justice. A kid sets fire to a business and not only destroys the business and tries to do the same to the one next door, but he puts all the employees out of work. Guess what? A puff ball sentence -- house arrest! He's a teenager. He knows right from wrong -- and if he was never taught it, then jail the little %^&*%# and teach him the difference with whatever methods are necessary to bring an "I'm sorry" to his lips. For this kind of kid, military discipline with the hardest boiled sergeant would be a "good thing".