Half of town's residents implicated in British Columbia pot raid
Police Superintendent Marianne Ryan said 100 officers executed 28 search warrants at 14 homes and 14 vehicles at 7 a.m. Tuesday, finding several factory-sized pot factories within a 21/2-mile radius. An undetermined number of firearms also were seized.
The buildings contained as many as 5,000 plants and some had been operating for years in the rustic town about 240 miles northeast of Vancouver, police said. At least 16 people were arrested and more arrests are likely, Ryan said.
"We've never seen anything like this before, not where a whole community is affected this way," she said.
"The warrants were obtained after an extensive two-year investigation that grew out of complaints from residents unhappy with the number of growing operations in the area and complaining of violence, threats and intimidation," Ryan said.
Investigators said the pot was grown and processed for sale in Vancouver; Calgary, Alberta, and the United States.
"This wasn't your typical type of organized crime. It works below the traditional level of organized crime. It's very sophisticated and very professional," Ryan said.
Sgt. John Ward said some officers were approached on the street by residents who thanked them for the raid.
"These people are really glad this is over," Ward said.
Large green bins for storing plants and growing equipment lined the town's dirt street during the raid. Police stood at intersections and in front of the lone store, which had been closed for the winter.
Some residents gathered at the community mailbox and talked quietly among themselves.
Ed Doll, who has spent summers in Seymour Arm for 20 years, said the isolated village was an ideal spot for pot grow-ops.
"This is a remote area only accessible by boat and a single logging road. It's the last place anyone would look," Doll said. "There have always been a lot of mom and pop (marijuana) operations, but these ones were more than just mom and pop. Who needs that kind of thing?"
Shane Roth said he didn't want the place to become known for drug activity.
"I don't want people to think Seymour Arm and then think of that kind of culture," Roth said.