Vast illegal cannabis plantation dismantled | Employees clocked in and out

Professional electrical installation, timer-controlled sprinkler system, sophisticated lighting and ventilation, display of work schedules and task forms, and even an electronic time clock allowing employees to clock in and register their arrival and departure times .

The Press learned that investigators from the Organized Crime Division of the Service de police de Laval (SPL) dismantled on Wednesday, in the industrial sector of the Duvernay district, a cannabis plantation which was to have a few hundred plants according to a certificate of authorization from Health Canada issued for this address, but which, in reality, was a real illegal production factory which housed more than 2000.

They also seized nearly 70 kilograms of cannabis resin, more than a ton of dried cannabis and high-end equipment, all worth more than $8 million, according to police.

Arrests took place during this operation carried out as part of the Accès Cannabis program funded by the Government of Quebec. The police believe that organized crime is behind this illegal plantation.

“A normal citizen would not invest 1 million strictly for personal consumption. We are in a production plant, in an investment aimed at making money and financing other illicit activities, ”says Jean-François Rousselle, assistant director and head of investigations at the SPL.

“It is clear that we are faced with a well-established and structured production system. We are not in the artisanal, with an apprentice cannabis producer. They are highly organized and knowledgeable people, ”he adds.

Again Health Canada

According to Mr. Rousselle, this case demonstrates the importance for Ottawa of modifying the Cannabis lawin particular the articles which establish the criteria and procedures allowing individuals to obtain personal production authorization certificates for medical purposes.

At the end of September, The Press published a file revealing that the system of granting authorization certificates was abused by organized crime or by individuals who fraudulently obtained licenses and illicitly produced large quantities of marijuana.

“What we have dismantled is a cannabis production plant that exists without impunity, which produces very large volumes of marijuana and against which we have had to put a lot of effort. »

“We are not currently seeing a decline in the black market for marijuana. It’s not just a health issue right now, it’s also a public safety issue. There has to be a connection between health and public safety. Our concern is that these plantations are used to finance other illicit activities of organized crime, such as – we can hypothesize – the purchase of firearms. The lack of supervision and the absence of verification by Health Canada, for us, this is an important issue,” continued Mr. Rousselle.

Ottawa must review the law next year. In the meantime, Mr. Rousselle and the Laval Police Department are asking for a moratorium on the granting of authorization certificates for the personal production of cannabis for medical purposes, the creation of a public health and safety committee to look into the problem and the obligation for certificate holders to obtain supplies from official companies such as the Société québécoise du cannabis.

To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.