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Woodstock's Biggest Pot Bust EVER
Biggest pot bust ever July 5/04
Police Shut Down largest Grow Operation in Oxford History
By Heather Rivers-Harron - STAFF WRITER SENTINEL REVIEW
WOODSTOCK - In what police are calling the single largest bust in the city's history, Oxford Community Police seized almost 1,700 marijuana plants on July 1.
After a two-week investigation initiated by two beat officers, police uncovered marijuana in various stages of growth in the buildings adjacent to and above the Gold Coin Restaurant at 411 and 413 Dundas St.
Two males, Phuc Van Phy, 43, and Tuan The Ha, 42, both of Toronto, were arrested and charged with drug related crimes.
Police estimate the street value of the mature marijuana plants to be $1.6 million. They also seized $150,000 in growing equipment.
"This is the largest single grow operation since the phenomenon began (in Oxford County) two years ago," said Chief of Police Ron Fraser.
Fraser believes the operation is the work of organized crime. The ownership of the restaurant had recently changed hands, he said.
"This is significant to our community," he said. "Not everybody is aware, but this is not our first exposure to it."
He believes the operation is connected to a larger one and the product may have been destined for the United States.
Mayor Michael Harding, who toured the operation Friday, said he was "shocked" that such an operation existed on Dundas Street in the heart of the city's downtown.
Harding said vigilance is needed on the part of the police and community.
"It's a scourge on our community," he said.
Marijuana grow operations are moving away from residential areas, explained OCPS Sgt. Daryl Longworth, mainly because the excessive hydro use needed for grow ops can be easily hidden in a commercial establishment.
The culprits were also stealing hydro for their grow operation, he said.
Longworth and other officers removed the plants Friday and samples of the plants will be taken for evidence and then destroyed, he said.
Two rottweilers were also removed from the premises and taken to Hillside Kennels.