Joint initiative on Vancouver Island seize 16,500 marijuana plants

News Release

Project SABOT, a marijuana eradication program on
Vancouver Island, saw the RCMP, Saanich Police Department,
and the Victoria Police Department join forces to battle outdoor
marijuana grow operations on Vancouver Island.
The Department of National Defense (DND) is also an
important partner in this annual aerial program, flying team
members into areas of the Island that are hard to reach by
conventional transportation means.

One of the many grow sites
located by helicopter.

With a start date of August 22, 2006, police reconnaissance
crews identified 250 outdoor marijuana growing sites, varying
in size from as few as 20 plants to as many as 300 plants. In
all, across the Island, police seized 16,500 marijuana plants
over a time span of two weeks.
Cst. Darren Lagan, Project SABOT coordinator said that the
air operation is only one part of the project. Local Island
detachments also eradicate sites leading up to the air program
and after it's conclusion. Another great outcome of the Project
is the relationship and mutual respect that comes out of our
partnership with DND. They were an invaluable asset to our
project and conducted an extremely safe aerial program."
Added Lagan, "All our team members are to be
congratulated. The work is gruelling and backbreaking, but
well worth the efforts. We tend to harvest more plants from the
northern end of the Island. That's not a reflection on
communities in the northern Island. It's not local residents
setting this up; it's groups from larger areas. The northern
Island has more crown land and for growers, it's a suitable
site."
"We know there is a direct link between marijuana grow
operations and organized crime groups. This is an integral
part of our battle against organized crime."
If you suspect or have information about a marihuana grow-op in your neighbourhood, please contact your local RCMP detachment or the police service of jurisdiction in your area.

Search for related information by keyword

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Society and Culture Law

Page details

2016-12-15

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

Joint initiative on Vancouver Island seize 16,500 marijuana plants

News Release

Page details