Police seize 450 marijuana plants in grow-op bust near File Hills First Nations

Police are investigating after a large marijuana grow-op was busted in the File Hills First Nations area Monday.

File Hills First Nations Police Service, along with the Fort Qu’Appelle RCMP, the F Division Integrated Drug Unit and the Canadian Armed Forces found 450 marijuana plants and 20 kilograms (46 pounds) of marijuana that was already processed for sale.

Three large greenhouses were found on the site and police trucks were needed to carry the marijuana away.

A large amount of greenhouse equipment was also found.

During the late summer and early fall, the Canadian Armed Forces and the police will come together for a detection and eradication operation that targets outdoor marijuana grow-ops.

The operation is known as Operation SABOT.

File Hills First Nations Police Chief Lennard Busch said officers had checked on the remote rural area periodically for a suspected grow-op.

“Nothing had been happening for the past three years, just the frame was up and it looked like somebody at one time was going to start it,” Busch said.

“Then earlier this year we realized that it was up and going, so we just kind of waited and we weren’t absolutely sure what was going on, just that there was activity there.”

Operation SABOT then flew over the suspected area and confirmed there were many marijuana plants, Busch said.