RCMP raids last month turned up thousands of weed plants along with guns and more than $60,000 in cash from a Langley commercial property and a home in Surrey.
According to a statement from Surrey RCMP, on June 23 officers seized five firearms, 7,668 cannabis clones, 71 pounds of pre-packaged weed, 1,150 pre-loaded cannabis vape pens, 1,250 THC-infused butter containers, five bricks of hashish, two boxes of edible cannabis products and more than $30,000 in cash.
Police say the Langley property was an unlicensed business specializing in the sale of clones.
“This was a highly sophisticated operation with multiple ledgers and databases of customers and clientele information,” reads the statement.
Two men and one woman were arrested and later let go “pending further investigation.”
The Ministry of Children and Family Development has been “engaged to ensure the safety” of two children, a newborn and two-year-old, who were located at the Surrey home.
Read more: Richmond RCMP seize 427 pounds of weed from two illicit operations
Read more: Salmon Arm RCMP seize 1,600 cannabis plants from unlicensed grow
Surrey RCMP began looking into the Langley property for possible drug trafficking into the city on June 22.
The next day, a vehicle linked to the property was pulled over in a traffic stop and the driver was arrested. “Further investigation” resulted in the seizure of about one kilogram of dried cannabis and $35,000 in cash.
Officers carried out the two search warrants sometime later on June 23: one at 196 Street and 28 Avenue in Langley and the other at 157 Street and 98 Avenue in Surrey.
In reporting the seizures, Mounties also explicitly drew a connection between buying from illicit sources and criminality. The point is emphasized in the statement’s headline, “Buying illegal cannabis puts money into the hands of criminals,” and driven home by a Surrey RCMP spokesperson.
“Although cannabis is now legal to consume and purchase in Canada, it is strictly regulated,” says Const. Sarbjit K. Sangha, media relations officer. “Even though it may be just a bit of pot, when you buy your cannabis from illicit sources, you are helping to put money and guns into the hands of criminals.”
The British Columbia government has indicated recently it’s more focused on enforcing cannabis laws. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth also said the number of illegal storefronts is dropping while the legal market is growing.
Read more: BC focuses on cannabis enforcement as illicit market shrinks
Read more: Testing pilot finds multiple contaminants in illicit BC bud
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