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Police dismantled about 40 marijuana grow houses across Quebec Wednesday, in an early morning raid that saw cops seize 13,000 pot plants and arrest 22 people. About 500 Sûreté du Québec officers were enlisted for the operation, which targeted independent growers. The raids began at around 6 a.m. in a swath of residential areas throughout the province, including the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Eastern Townships, Quebec City, Mauricie, Saguenay and Outaouais regions. Police say the arrests came after a series of investigations connected to the SQ's anti-marijuana "Cisaille" task force. The plants could have yielded upwards of 3,000 pounds of pot and fetched $6 million at wholesale prices, according to a former marijuana grower who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Gazette.
After news of a raid in Mascouche surfaced early Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec told The Gazette police will be hitting suspected grow houses all day and into the night. "All I can say is that our officers are targeting dozens of cities across the province," said SQ Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau. "Anything more specific than that could put our officers' safety at risk." The SQ launched its Cisaille task force in 1999 and seize up to 700,000 pot plants each year. The officers are busiest during the marijuana field harvest in the fall, which is mainly concentrated in Quebec's Mauricie and Eastern Townships regions. However, since hydroponic grow houses can run 12 months a year, there's never truly a lack of supply for police to seize. The 22 arrested will face drug production and trafficking charges and some will be accused of stealing electricity to power their hydroponic greenhouses. More arrests could follow. The SQ will provide a more detailed summary of its raids Wednesday evening, Bilodeau said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Montrealgazette.com
Author: Staff
Contact: Contact us
Website: 13,000 pot plants seized, 22 arrested in province-wide SQ raids
After news of a raid in Mascouche surfaced early Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec told The Gazette police will be hitting suspected grow houses all day and into the night. "All I can say is that our officers are targeting dozens of cities across the province," said SQ Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau. "Anything more specific than that could put our officers' safety at risk." The SQ launched its Cisaille task force in 1999 and seize up to 700,000 pot plants each year. The officers are busiest during the marijuana field harvest in the fall, which is mainly concentrated in Quebec's Mauricie and Eastern Townships regions. However, since hydroponic grow houses can run 12 months a year, there's never truly a lack of supply for police to seize. The 22 arrested will face drug production and trafficking charges and some will be accused of stealing electricity to power their hydroponic greenhouses. More arrests could follow. The SQ will provide a more detailed summary of its raids Wednesday evening, Bilodeau said.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Montrealgazette.com
Author: Staff
Contact: Contact us
Website: 13,000 pot plants seized, 22 arrested in province-wide SQ raids
