The tenfold growth of illegal marijuana grow-ops over the last decade is turning B.C. into "Colombia North," according to a criminologist examining the problem in the Cariboo region.

Darryl Plecas, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, says that criminologists have been predicting for years that B.C.'s grow operations would expand in size and sophistication.

"Here we are today without anyone imagining that it would have grown to the extent it has," he told reporters at a press conference in Prince George Friday.

"We have a situation here, it appears, where the situation has grown at least tenfold what it was a decade ago.... It's near fair comment to say that we're Colombia North."

Plecas said that the marijuana industry has now spread out of the Lower Mainland into the northern regions.

Despite the best efforts of police, he added, organized crime is "continually morphing" to find new ways to expand operations and evade detection.

In an effort to address the growing problem, the RCMP has formed the so-called CRIME pilot project: Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement. Since the task force was launched in September, 24 people have been arrested and 54,000 pot plants seized.

All of those arrested have been released from custody.



Const. Mike McLaughlin said that there has been a 300-per-cent increase in the number of complaints about marijuana grow-ops in the Cariboo over the last few years.

"The grow-ops that we're dealing with are not the Mom and Pop operations that some people associate with rural marijuana grow-ops," he said. "This is organized crime."

He added that police believe marijuana operations in the Cariboo are directly linked to the trafficking of guns and cocaine, and six unregistered weapons have been uncovered by investigators.

The majority of people arrested so far are newcomers to B.C.'s north, and regional Chief Supt. Barry Clarke says that could lead to some serious environmental impacts.

"These newcomers to the pristine Cariboo region have no regard for the lands that they occupy. Streams are being diverted, growth-enhancing chemicals and pesticides are leaching into the soil, and garbage is being left behind," he said.

The CRIME task force will continue its investigations for an indefinite period of time, and says that it is not targeting grow-ops intended for personal use.



