Police raid licensed grow-op north of Toronto, seize $6.5M in cannabis, plants
(Handout by York Regional Police)
Two Quebec men have been charged after York regional police seized 635 pounds of cannabis and more than 4,000 plants worth $6.5 million on the street from a licensed operation north of Toronto.
On July 26, officers conducted a safety inspection of a property in King Township after receiving complaints from the community. During the inspection, they discovered a “large-scale” cannabis grow-op on the property, according to a police press release.
The owners of the property had three Health Canada licences that allowed each of them to grow a total of 875 plants for medical purposes, police said.
The next day, police executed a search warrant on a house and 22 greenhouses located on the property. They found the number of plants on the property “far exceeded” the licensed amount. The cannabis was also being grown in an “unregulated, illegal and unsafe manner,” according to police.
“All too often, police are identifying personal and designated production licence holders that are growing excessive amounts of cannabis under Health Canada authorizations,” Chief Eric Jolliffe said. “The product is then diverted to the illicit market by organized crime groups to supply illegal dispensaries, export outside of Canada and trafficked in our local communities.”
Samkeo Vanvilay, 43, from Laval, Que. and Chi Chung Phan, 36, from Montreal have been charged with producing marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Source: CTV, 3 Aug 2018.
