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Ottawa police are warning the city’s landlords to be aware of the legal jeopardy they could face by renting to illegal pot shops.

The warning follows a recent ruling by Judge Peter Doody in which he ordered partial forfeiture of the property at 352 Preston St., a building owned by John Sanders, an Ottawa real estate agent.

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The property had been rented to two illegal marijuana dispensaries — GreenTree and CannaLife — between June 2016 and September 2018. Sanders continued to rent to the dispensaries despite written warnings from police that the illegal activity could lead to civil or criminal forfeiture of the property.

Sanders has now been ordered to forfeit part of his property since only the first floor of the two-storey building was used by the illegal pot shops.

“The Ottawa Police Service believes this is an effective strategy for compliance of property owners who permit illegal marijuana dispensaries to operate on their property,” Insp. Carl Cartright of the criminal investigations directorate said in a news release Tuesday.