Police at the top and bottom of the Cariboo are relieved the region's grow-op crackdown will continue.
On Friday the provincial government and RCMP E-Division brass announced a permanent continuation to the year-long task force dedicated to disrupting marijuana plantations - a major source of cash and trade for B.C.'s rich criminal gangs. That task force was scheduled to run from Sept. 2010 until Sept. 2011 but when they uncovered about 11 tonnes of illegal marijuana and charged more than 70 suspected criminals, the powers that be were compelled to continue it on.
The cultural-historical region known as The Cariboo radiates from the Cariboo Mountain Range and Cariboo Plateau anchored by Quesnel and Williams Lake but it includes the Chilcotin sub-region and aspects of the Thompson and Lillooet regions. It is a rugged and sparsely populated area of the province, but along Highway 97 are found most of modern civilization's amenities and easy connections to the Lower Mainland.
Prince George is the crown of the Cariboo, both its largest and most northerly city. 100 Mile House is the southernmost community in the focus of the new North District Integrated Marijuana Enforcement task force (NDIME). The commander of the local detachment there is thrilled the NDIME operation will do the heavy lifting on imported activities of organized crime, so his detachment members can keep their focus on the day to day needs of 100 Mile House.
"As a provincial detachment we struggle with the budgetary considerations of organized crime, and this helps us address our community's safety needs and the needs to have crime confronted in our community," Staff Sgt. Brian Coldwell told The Citizen.
"Because of our proximity to the Lower Mainland, it is a jumping off point for southern criminals, and the affordable real estate prices being what they are, and availability of rural properties, it all adds up."
There have been four grow-ops busted in the 100 Mile House area in the past two months, he said as an indication of how busy their community is with the activities of organized criminals. The latest one, announced last week, used innovations never seen before in the north like a natural gas generator and bulk shipping containers acting as sheds but also involved an elaborate system of sound baffles and heat shields to prevent detection by audio surveillance or infrared cameras.
To keep up with such innovations, the NDIME team will be staffed with officers who do nothing but grow-op investigations and are trained especially for detecting the drug manufacturing activities of gangs in the region.
"The [year-long pilot project] highlighted a need for
investigators who have a specific operational skill-set and knowledge to assist local detachments in Northern BC," says Acting District Commander Supt. Rod Booth. "The creation of the NDIME team will help detachments target illegal marijuana grow operations and the crime groups that set them up."
Coldwell said these specialized Mounties would be working closely with the regular members of northern detachments - another spinoff benefit.
"Those skills they have are transferrable to other members of our detachment. We are all going to get better because of NDIME," he said.
