cannabisnews.com: Pot Greenhouse Staggers Cops Pot Greenhouse Staggers Cops Posted by FoM on November 20, 2000 at 06:20:56 PT By Nicholas Van Praet, The Gazette Source: Montreal Gazette Montreal Urban Community police yesterday made the biggest marijuana bust the city has ever seen - a $107-million hydroponic haul in a north-end warehouse. More than 25,000 plants were seized, as well as equipment worth $100,000. Significant dust had collected in the room, leading investigators to believe the growers had been at it for some time. Police stumbled on the indoor growing operation by accident as they were investigating a burglary report. A passer-by called police at 4:15 a.m. when he saw the glass door of the warehouse on St. Laurent Blvd. smashed in. Police ran up the steps to the second floor and found row upon row of marijuana plants in various stages of growth. They then went back outside to question the passer-by. When they heard noises coming from the warehouse, they went back in and found a 57-year-old man carrying two cups of coffee. He'd entered the building through the back door. Police arrested the man, who they believe was one of the caretakers of the sophisticated growing operation. Police estimated that if the growers had been at the warehouse for 12 months, they would have cultivated six mature crops of marijuana bud. Each crop could bring in $100 million, meaning the growers could have raked in more than $500 million in one year. That kind of money leaves no doubt in investigators' minds that criminal biker gangs are behind the operation. "For the bikers, this is little investment for a lot of profit," said Det.-Lt. Andre Bergeron of the MUC police drug squad. "To get rid of this crop takes some resources. This potent pot was definitely set for export. The Americans want it." United States border-patrol officials say dope smuggling from Canada has multiplied tenfold in the past two years alone. The 3,000-square-foot St. Laurent Blvd. warehouse, most of which was used for growing, was a highly automated greenhouse. Hoses snaked around the room, providing water to budding plants. Timers were rigged to turn on 1,000-watt high-intensity-discharge lamps, start water pumps and crank the ventilation system. Plastic lined the walls to provide insulation. The owner of the warehouse had leased the property to one person and said yesterday he didn't know about the growing operation. In fact, he said, he was about to give the individual a break on his rent because he thought his business was doing poorly. The growers used equipment anyone can buy at a hydroponic store. They started new plants by snipping off small branches from female plants and then fertilizing the seedlings in tiny pots of compressed peat moss. Hydroponic pot is grown using water and nutrients instead of soil. The growing process can yield potent marijuana. "We estimate there are hundreds of other indoor growing operations in the Montreal area," said MUC police Lt. Jean Paradis, the man in charge of all drug busts on the island. "As big as this one, though? We don't know." Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)Published: Monday November 20, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.Contact: letters thegazette.southam.caWebsite: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~montreal END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 21, 2000 at 18:26:31 PT Maybe Hey Freedom fighter maybe that count each bud as a plant? You just never know! LOL! I'm not really sure how smart they are. Just kidding but had to say it. I must be tired! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on November 21, 2000 at 17:58:28 PT Yeah, I understand you dog! Hi Sampson and welcome to the Alice in the WonderDealand!Problem is that we know that the LAW is funny and Krazy.When they see 1000 plants, they yell,"10,000 plants" and blame on someone they do not even have any proof. 57 year old biker? I suppose there are some but heck it must be hard on bones. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Sampson on November 21, 2000 at 11:37:43 PT: I am a amateure I always though I was a big dog. Or even a novice. But for some people that have posted things on this site to say that that hall was not much to brag about is crazy to me. If I had half of that to smoke I would be happy. Some people should remeber when they first started. Any of yall big pofesinals remeber what a dime is. What about an ounce. Even a quarter-pound. Somebody needs to remeber us little dogs out here. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 20, 2000 at 14:54:01 PT 25, 000 Plants Oh My! Hi Dr. Ganj! I haven't seen you around for a while and it's always good to see your posts! I get tired when I just think of what it must be like to tend 25,000 plants. It is beyond me the amount of work it would take do do something like that.Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by T-rider on November 20, 2000 at 12:35:56 PT Ganja I think that the constitution of america is wrong. Growing Marijuana plants is nothing compared to cach [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by bud on November 20, 2000 at 11:59:36 PT biker bud are you kidding or what? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by MICHAEL on November 20, 2000 at 11:27:18 PT: ----MAGIC BALL----- I sure would like more evidence than volume as the only criteria that connects a big grow with bikers. As an American biker, I wouldn't put bikers at the top of my " big growers list", is Canada that much different? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dr. Ganj on November 20, 2000 at 09:34:10 PT Let's Examine These Inflated Numbers Hi FoM!!Okay, at first we tend to think 25,000 plants is a lot. But after closer evaluation, we see that a large indoor grow consists of usually half the amount of plants as clones waiting to root. This makes this grow at about 12,000 plants, which yield far less than the fuzz report. Of all the large gardens I've seen, I'll put the yield at 10-14 GRAMS per plant, and at the wholesale market value, that puts this crop at a potential value at $120,000 - $150,000 every 60 days. So, that's around 1.5-2.5 million dollars a year. Not a bad living, but that is certainly divided between the partners involved, and that makes this grow really not that impressive. Considering their building was only 3,000 square feet tells me this grow is not worth bragging about. Dr. Ganj http://www.champsf.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 20, 2000 at 07:09:40 PT: Just A Note Hello Everyone,I just wanted to mention that I'm not posting many news articles because I just can't seem to find any worth posting. I think the election snafu is affecting the news because most papers are covering the details and not doing much else in news. I sure will get more posted as soon as I find some. Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: