Just stalks and the occasional marijuana bud remain after the RCMP swooped in on a 38-acre property grow-op in Beaverdell, near Kelowna, B.C.
At the very back of the property, furthest from the highway at the base of a hill are several greenhouses, and inside a quantity of plants that sets a new benchmark in the area: 5,100 plants in 15 greenhouses.
The bust is just the latest in a series around B.C.'s Interior. Two weeks ago, nearly 23,000 plants were found at a grow-up near 100 Mile House. And over the past year, no less than 33,000 plants were seized after several arrests in an area east of Williams Lake.
RCMP Spokesperson Const. Annie Linteau says large scale operations like these take a long time to investigate.
"At this point we don't have any information to suggest they are linked to any particular organized crime groups - but we are inviting anyone who may have info about grow ops in rural areas or info related to any groups involved in these activities to call us," says Linteau.
It took a police dog to nab two of the men, but eventually the police took five into custody in the Beaverdell bust.
The five men will appear in court on Oct. 8 and 9 on charges of producing and trafficking a controlled substance.
With a report from CTV British Columbia.
