B.C.’s anti-gang unit has dismantled four sophisticated marijuana grow-ops in Mission believed to be linked to the Hells Angels.
Officers with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. executed warrants on four rural properties in Mission and a home in Langley on Friday, arresting five men and seizing millions of dollars worth of marijuana.
The grow-ops are linked to the outlaw motorcycle gang and show a level of sophistication — both in terms of technology, construction, and security measures — that officers with decades of experience busting grow-ops have not seen, said CFSEU-BC spokesman Sgt. Lindsey Houghton.
“They all describe these as the most technologically and construction-wise sophisticated grow-ops they’ve ever encountered,” said Houghton. “When most people think of a grow-op, they think shoddily wired, cobbled together in the basement. … This was completely the opposite in these cases.”
The warrants were executed on homes in the 10000-block Sylvester Road, 14000-block Sylvester Road, 12000-block Dewdney Trunk Road and 13000-block De Graff Road.
Police were tipped off to the location of the grow-ops, which have been in operation for a few months, said Houghton.
The De Graff Road grow-op was located in an underground bunker hidden by a fake horse paddock above ground. The venting was well concealed by a fake doghouse and fire pit. “They went to great lengths to build this and house this,” said Houghton.
The other grow-ops were all on ground level. All were built in a similar fashion; all were constructed to code, utilizing professional tradespeople.
A 34-year-old Langley man, alleged by police to be the caretaker of all the properties, was arrested in a home in the 4500-block 206 Ave. in Langley on the same day.
About 10,000 plants and 200 pounds of dried marijuana, with a street value of about $10 million, were seized from the four grow-ops. Equipment worth $1 million was also seized, including four $100,000 natural gas generators, each capable of powering a large hospital or a small town.
Three other men were arrested from two of the grow-op properties: a 33-year-old Burnaby man, and two men aged 32 and 33 of no fixed address. They have been released from custody. No charges have been laid.
Police say the investigation could take days or weeks.
“The evidence gathered was so overwhelming, they’re still counting it,” said Houghton.
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