Source: Victoria Times Colonist
Contact: timesc@interlink.bc.ca

Pot seized in airborne raid

by Gerard Young (TC Staff)

Caption: Pot crop chopped. Military and RCMP personnel unload marijuana
plants from a military Bell 212 helicopter in Lasqueti Island Wednesday.
A large militarystyle operation resulted in $1 million worth of
marijuana that would have been harvested soon by illicit growers. More
such raids are planned.

Lasqueti Island RCMP and soldiers buzzed over this island of about 350
permanent residents in a militarystyle operation Wednesday, pulling out
as many pot crops as they could get their hands on.

It was the first day of Vancouver Island blitzes as Mounties moved to
destroy marijuana plantations before growers harvest their crops.
Marijuana seized on the island north of Parksville had an estimated
street value of $1 million.

Wednesday's effort included RCMP and one military helicopter, a police
boat, a Zodiac inflatable boat, a truck and about 20 police officers and
soldiers.

It's not the first time the RCMP have carried out such operations on
Vancouver Island, but it's the largest effort ever. They invited the
media along to let pot growers know police are on the lookout for their
crops.

"The message to them, and the education for everyone else, is that ...
we'll be doing the best we can with the resources we have to remove [the
marijuana plots]," said RCMP Const. Marty Stoner of the Victoria RCMP
drug squad.

Wednesday's conditions were ideal for searching out the pot, which
growers attempt to blend in with the other vegetation and trees, usually
on heavily wooded Crown land. Tips led the hunters to some plots, but
mostly they had to search them out on their own.

As helicopters spotted from 150 to 300 metres up, ground crews followed
their directions to the "mushroomy, billowy" plants. Most of the
plantations were small, many in the 1040 plant range.

"This is the beginning of the [harvest] season based on the weather over
the summer," said Stoner.

Early on in their growth, the plants need a lot of sun and rain, while
now, as they are beginning to bud, they need more darkness. The buds
the part of the plant sold for drug use are close to being
harvestable.

In bright sunlight, the darkgreen marijuana plants, which are up to two
meters tall, stand out amid other growth. "When it's ugly, you can fly
all over and you don't see it," said RCMP pilot Cpl. Scott Healey.

Some Lasqueti Island residents weren't pleased by the police efforts.
Darzo Olesko, 50, said she doesn't use or grow marijuana, but she has
friends who cultivate it. She said most people are just trying to
supplement their meager earnings, adding that police are wasting public
money that could go to other things, such as education and social
programs.

"When I stood here today, my blood was boiling. They are small
operators, and it's really povertyline people trying to make a little
bit of money on the side," said Olesko, who works in a local bakery.

When the military helicopter landed briefly near the island's school,
some parents yelled at the officers as children looked on. It's
unlikely the current blitz will result in many arrests, if any, because
it is difficult to prove who is doing the growing.

The operation is being coordinated out of Parksville and Qualicum.
Stoner was unable to say how long police might be in the area, or where
they might go to next. The operation will continue until weather begins
to rot the crops.