cannabisnews.com: OPP High on Big Brewery Bust OPP High on Big Brewery Bust Posted by CN Staff on January 12, 2004 at 08:42:52 PT By Peter Cheney Source: Globe and Mail Barrie, Ont. — From the outside, it was a blank industrial building that had seen better times. But inside was another world — galaxies of high-powered grow lights, kilometres of irrigation tubing, armed "farmers," and endless green waves of top-grade marijuana.That was the scene police encountered this weekend in a raid that uncovered an odd and uniquely ambitious criminal operation — an indoor marijuana farm "bigger than a football field" that was located next to one of the busiest highways in Canada. "You had to see it to believe it," OPP Superintendent Bill Crate said after touring the operation, which was set up in a former Molson brewery on the east side of Highway 400 in the Ontario city of Barrie. The highway, a main conduit for commuters and cottage-goers, carries up to 159,000 cars a day.Police arrested 11 people after a Saturday morning raid, then spent the weekend collecting evidence at the colossal indoor marijuana farm, which was located in windowless space inside the former brewery.News of the epic bust spread quickly through Barrie. "I didn't think Barrie was the dope capital of Ontario," said a clerk at a downtown store. "I figured it would be Mississauga or something."Supt. Crate said there were "thousands upon thousands" of plants in the indoor farm, which was attended by "farmers" who lived inside the former brewery to guard and tend the plants, which were grown in hydroponic tanks under huge lamps. The plants were watered by an extensive irrigation system.Police said the operation occupied several sections of the former brewery, which was closed in 2000 when Molson reorganized its operations amid declining sales, putting 414 people out of work. Since then, a number of companies have leased space in the roughly 11,250-square-metre125,000 square foot complex. Among the current tenants are a bottling company, a coffee-roasting firm and a trucking outfit. The owner of a nearby industrial operation said he had "no clue" that a massive marijuana farm had been operating in the brewery."All I know is that trucks would come and go," he said. "There was nothing unusual about that."The weekend raid on the brewery site was a massive operation that included more than 100 officers. Among those involved in the operation were SWAT teams, canine units, and bomb-disposal experts. Supt. Crate said that large-scale growing operations are often booby-trapped, and that further hazards are presented by "pirate" connections to high-voltage power lines used to run growing lights."It took most of Saturday just to make sure it was safe," he said.There was a certain paradox to the marijuana operation's discovery, given that Barrie is a perennial competitor in a national contest known as "Communities in Bloom," which recognizes towns and cities for "the imaginative use of flowers, plants and trees." (In 2001, Barrie was a winner in the category of towns with populations between 101,000 and 300,000.)Although police had not released official estimates as of yesterday, it appears that the value of the crops grown in the former brewery could reach into the tens of millions of dollars. Supt. Crate said there were several thousand plants, ranging from seedlings to "mother plants" that were used to harvest seeds for new crops."It's huge," he said. "Huge."Sergeant George Cabral of the Barrie police force said the operation was well organized and elaborate: "Someone went to a lot of trouble and expense," he said.The raid on the growing operation came after an investigation by the Huronia Combined Forces Drug Unit, a task force that includes officers from four different police forces. Spokesmen would not elaborate on how they learned about the operation, but a police source said the arrests came after a "street tip.""Something this size can't stay secret forever," the source said.The Barrie operation reflects a growing trend. According to Green Tide, a study prepared for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, indoor marijuana growing increased by more than 250 per cent between 2000 and 2002 in Ontario. Police estimated that in 2002, Ontario was home to as many as 15,000 operations, producing marijuana with an estimated value of up to $12.7-billion.From the 1970s through the early 1990s, most marijuana was grown outdoors. But by the mid-1990s, savvy growers had discovered that indoor operations were easier to hide and far more profitable, since crops could be grown year-round.Indoor growing was pioneered in British Columbia, but was soon transplanted to Ontario. Although most growers operated out of suburban homes, police have noted a recent trend toward large operations based in industrial spaces, which produce significant economies of scale.The former brewery appears to have been a near-perfect venue. After touring the site yesterday, one officer compared the rooms of marijuana to "a little Saskatchewan.""It just went on and on," he said. "You've never seen anything like it."From Monday's Globe and Mail Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Peter CheneyPublished: Monday, January 12, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/CannabisNews Canada Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 12, 2004 at 12:17:12 PT puff_tuff Thanks for the pictures. I never thought that there was anything that big anywhere. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by puff_tuff on January 12, 2004 at 12:10:07 PT Bust Photos With apologies to Frank Discussion (http://frankdiscussion.netfirms.com/)... :)http://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771096-1.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771098-2.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771100-3.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771104-4.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771107-5.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771110-6.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771111-7.jpghttp://www.cannabisculture.com/uploads//771114-8.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by puff_tuff on January 12, 2004 at 10:19:43 PT Brewery Bust Ontario police seize 30,000 pot plants in former brewery http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/12/pot040112 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pot bust largest in Canadian historySteve Fairbairn Canadian Press Monday, January 12, 2004http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=9E9155DE-6E94-4ECD-B3F6-12CEE12602F3Video Link: http://www.canada.com/toronto/globaltv/info/video/011204pot.ram ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OPP Press Release9 Charged - Over $30 Million in Marihuana Seized http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2004/12/c9100.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 12, 2004 at 09:43:50 PT Related Article from The CBC Ontario Police Seize 30,000 Pot Plants in Former Brewery Written by CBC News Online Staff January 12, 2004BARRIE, ONT. - Calling it the largest and most sophisticated marijuana operation in Canadian history, Ontario police said they have seized 30,000 plants which they say is worth worth more than $30 million in an abandoned Molson brewery facility. Wayne Frechette: 'This is not a Ma and Pa operation.' Barrie police Chief Wayne Frechette said the growing facility was a "massive operation" that proved "organized crime is present in most, if not all, of our communities." "This is not a Ma and Pa operation," he said. Nine men were arrested in connection with the operation. Investigators say they later uncovered 3,000 more marijuana plants in a nearby industrial complex. Police said both operations were conducted on a 24-hour basis. The former brewery was raided Saturday by about 100 Barrie and provincial police officers acting on a tip. Police said the growers used more than 5,574 square metres in the operation. They also had living accommodations for up to 50 people, including common areas, televisions, refrigerators and stoves. More than 1,000 grow lights were used, police said. According to police, millions of dollars were invested in equipment for the operation, which was capable of producing up to three or four crops a year. Vats previously used by the brewery housed hundreds of plants. Molson closed the brewery in 2000, and sold the building to a company that leases out space to a number of other businesses. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment