na.’ grow ops"2

“LIVING high in the British Properties” is developing
a meaning, that has nothing to do with altitude this
year. To date there have been at feast 17 investigations
of grow operations there this year. Despite the highly
profiled risk of getting caught, there are obviously
plenty of people willing to risk what many see as nom-
inal penalties for the huge profits in the business.
Makes vou wonder why the government isn’t running
the B.C. bud show, doesn’t it? Still, while it’s tempting
to dismiss these grow-op busts as not much more seri-
ous than simple possession of the same illegal sub-
stance, the fact is that most of the growers are employed by organized criminals —
the same people we pay our police forces to protect us against. And the damage the
growers do to the homes they adapt for indoor hydroponics is staggering. Police
showed slides at a recent community meeting of onc home that suffered over $60,000
in damages. The same meeting also detailed signs that a gre w-op might be operating
in your neighbourhoad: a rented home in a secluded location; new tenants who keep
to themselves and come and go at odd hours or are away for days at a time; closed
drapes or blacked-out windows; a sweet “skunky” odour. Your tips are welcome.

NORTH SHORE DEMOGRAPHICS

NO ON'T
NO OPINION KNOW

Horseshoe Bay
Dundarave/Ambleside
British Properties
Norgate/Pembertor Heights

Capilano/Delbrook Hightands

Lower Lonsdale

Central and Upper Lonsdale
Lynn Valley

Blueridge/Decp Cove

COMBINED AVERAGE

YES

0% ug
82% ac
16%
78%
61%
73%
NS
11%
63%

seeccseaccees 120

19%

25%
15%

Russell Johnstone

Isabel Delano

David Wilson

11% O%

1% be | stiffer,

damined soft.

North Vancouver
Yes. It’s getting out of hand.
The court sentences should

they

are

too

North Vancouver

Yes. Though it (gro...ig
marijuana) might be consid-
ered only a small czime, it
only accelerates to more
criminal activity. New York
has had success recently with
cracking down on small
crimes to reduce the number
of larger crimes and improve
its residential lifestyle.

North Vancouver

Yes. I think marijuana leads
to criminal activity. Until
such time as marijuana is
legalized, that’s the job of
the police. Unfortunately it
costs a loc of money but
that’s what we pay them to
do. Like poaching, grow
operations offer gains far
greater than the potential
losses.

1%

5% 8%

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE INQUIRING REPORTER? E-mail your comments or question ideas to: mmillerchip@nsnews.com |

Thieves tee off on Gleneagles’ pri

Katharine Hamer

News Reporter
CLOSE to $6,000 in
goif equipment and
cigarettes was taken
from the pro shop at

Gleneagles Golf Course
last weekend.

Thieves appear to have
pried open the door of the
shop sometime between 9
p.m. on Sunday 23 April and
6 a.m. on Monday 24 April,

according to West Vancouver
Police Sgr. Jim Almas.

Almas said the burglars
severed telephone lines in an
attempt to disable the store’s
alarm system. Police were
calied to the scene by a store
employee shortly after 6 a.m.

Monday.

A police dog was sent in to
do an area search, but found
nothing, Almas said. A West
Vancouver Police forensics
team was also on site dusting
for fingerprints and gathering
evidence.

There were no witnesses
to the incident, and police
currently do not know how
Many suspects are involved.

Said Gleneagles Pro Shop
staff member Jason Platt,
“Golf shops across the Lower
Mainiand and Vancouver
Island have been targeted
over the past few years due to
the increased increase in
golf.”

Almas said he was aware of
at least one dedicated group
of golf equipment thieves
being investigated iast year by

shop

Coquitlam RCMP.

“Aset of golf clubs arc
very expensive,” he said,
“they go for: $1,000-2,000.
And golf is trendy i in this day
and age. There’s such a
demand for equipment, it’s
very easy to market.

“JF someone’s trying to
sell brand new golf clubs on.
the street, you should report .
them to the police.”

1 and small

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