FruityBud
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A Calgary couple has been arrested after police raided four houses in the city's south end and found $4.6 million worth of marijuana.
On Tuesday, police officers and tactical units searched houses in McKenzie Lake, Somerset, Shawnessy and Lake Chaparral, collecting 3,680 plants.
Sgt. Steve Kelly said police believe three of the houses were being used to grow the drug.
The couple alleged to have run the operation are Xiao Qun Yu, 32, and his partner Xing Hui Lin, 32. They face 22 charges including possession of marijuana, production of marijuana and theft of electricity and water.
"It's certainly linked to organized crime of some description," said Kelly.
"Marijuana is a street drug that generates a lot of money and makes money for people that could be used for any type of crime," he said.
The month-long investigation started when police were tipped off by a neighbour.
The suspects were at their Somerset home when police came on Tuesday. They opened the door and were arrested, said Kelly.
Neither one was known to police beforehand, he said.
Records show Yu was the registered owner of three of the homes and Lin was the registered owner of the McKenzie Lake house. The four houses combined were assessed at more than $1.6 million.
The Somerset property was bought in 2006, the McKenzie home in 2007, the Shawnessy house last April and the Chaparral house in November.
Neighbours said they saw people coming and going from the homes every now and then, shovelling snow or making the houses look lived in. Some even had Christmas lights still adorning the front.
Chaparral neighbour Gail Poffenroth said it seemed odd that the house's blinds were never opened.
"There was nobody living there; you could tell this was not a lived-in place," Poffenroth said.
"If it was, it was very weird," she said.
An alleged grow op in her neighbourhood, she said, was a sign of the times.
In McKenzie Lake, resident Cynthia Hall said she did not suspect something unusual.
"We saw them around and they seemed fine; this was a total shock," Hall said. "I'm glad they're gone."
Police are in the process of seizing the houses and a car that belonged to the couple.
In December, police made the largest residential marijuana bust in the city's history, seizing $3.25 million worth of pot plants. Unlike this week's bust, the crop of 2,600 plants seized in December were found in a single house, in West Springs.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/dh6vop
On Tuesday, police officers and tactical units searched houses in McKenzie Lake, Somerset, Shawnessy and Lake Chaparral, collecting 3,680 plants.
Sgt. Steve Kelly said police believe three of the houses were being used to grow the drug.
The couple alleged to have run the operation are Xiao Qun Yu, 32, and his partner Xing Hui Lin, 32. They face 22 charges including possession of marijuana, production of marijuana and theft of electricity and water.
"It's certainly linked to organized crime of some description," said Kelly.
"Marijuana is a street drug that generates a lot of money and makes money for people that could be used for any type of crime," he said.
The month-long investigation started when police were tipped off by a neighbour.
The suspects were at their Somerset home when police came on Tuesday. They opened the door and were arrested, said Kelly.
Neither one was known to police beforehand, he said.
Records show Yu was the registered owner of three of the homes and Lin was the registered owner of the McKenzie Lake house. The four houses combined were assessed at more than $1.6 million.
The Somerset property was bought in 2006, the McKenzie home in 2007, the Shawnessy house last April and the Chaparral house in November.
Neighbours said they saw people coming and going from the homes every now and then, shovelling snow or making the houses look lived in. Some even had Christmas lights still adorning the front.
Chaparral neighbour Gail Poffenroth said it seemed odd that the house's blinds were never opened.
"There was nobody living there; you could tell this was not a lived-in place," Poffenroth said.
"If it was, it was very weird," she said.
An alleged grow op in her neighbourhood, she said, was a sign of the times.
In McKenzie Lake, resident Cynthia Hall said she did not suspect something unusual.
"We saw them around and they seemed fine; this was a total shock," Hall said. "I'm glad they're gone."
Police are in the process of seizing the houses and a car that belonged to the couple.
In December, police made the largest residential marijuana bust in the city's history, seizing $3.25 million worth of pot plants. Unlike this week's bust, the crop of 2,600 plants seized in December were found in a single house, in West Springs.
hxxp://tinyurl.com/dh6vop
