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Thousands of marijuana plants have been confiscated by police after a raid on a British Columbia property.
Mounties from the Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit executed a search warrant at the residence and business in Mission on August 14.
They found 2,717 plants at various stages of growth being kept in 12 rooms.
Though the owner had a licence to grow medical marijuana, the quantity was “grossly” above legal limits.
The raid was part of an investigation into illegal inter-provincial shipping of marijuana.
Packages containing up to 50lbs of marijuana were being sent by couriers, police said.
Four people were found inside the property during the raid, but were all released.
The owner was not found.
“In this particular instance the property owner did have a licence to grow medicinal marijuana, but the sheer number of plants we located grossly outnumbered what was legally permitted,” said Supt Richard Bergevin.
“Unfortunately, despite new legislation there are still criminals looking to profit
from illegal grow-ops and distribution of marijuana.”
Police said the growing operation has caused so much damage to the property that it is now uninhabitable.