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CRIME, or Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement

Driven by a 300% increase in complaints from people living in the north, BC’s Federal RCMP has launched the Crime Task Force, a large-scale effort to fight the problem of commercial-scale marijuana grow-ops.

So far, 24 people, the majority of whom are newcomers to the Cariboo, are facing possible charges.

(Photos: Courtesy of the BC RCMP. Click on any photo to view larger image.)

CRIME, or Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement, has formed because over the preceding 17 months there was a 60% jump in the number of active investigations into marijuana grow operations in Prince George, Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House. "The grow-ops are 33% bigger than they used to be," states Constable Michael McLaughlin, Federal Operations Media Relations Officer. "Clearly, organized crime is fueling the increase, and the people of the Cariboo have told the RCMP’s Drug Enforcement Branch they want the criminals gone."

The pilot project started on September 7, 2010. Since that time, 27 marijuana grow operations have been taken down. That translates into more than 54,000 marijuana plants. In addition, six unregistered firearms have been seized. "There are more take-downs and arrests to come, and the Federal RCMP is actively targeting the senior leaders of these criminal operations," added Constable McLaughlin.

"The RCMP’s Federal Drug Enforcement Branch is working closely with regional RCMP drug sections, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) and local detachments to pilot CRIME. Our goal is to enforce Canadian law against marijuana growers whose current operations occupy the north," Constable McLaughlin continued . "These newcomers to the pristine Cariboo region have no regard for the land that they occupy; streams are being diverted, growth-enhancing chemicals and pesticides are leaching into the soil, and garbage is being left behind."

The criminal enterprises being targeted by the CRIME Task Force are not (grow-ops) for personal use. These large, commercial operations have direct links to the international trade of guns and cocaine. Federal, provincial and local agencies have all been consulted, along with local governments and the residents themselves, to make sure that criminal networks are not comfortable with their efforts to expand into the north. The Federal RCMP’s Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Section (DOCAS) will continue to educate people about healthy choices surrounding drugs.

The RCMP will keep working with the people of Prince George, Williams Lake, Quesnel, 100 Mile House and other communities in the Cariboo, to help them build safe and healthy neighbourhoods.