A large illicit cannabis operation has been shut down by the Ontario Provincial Police.
Officers from the Essex County detachment, Essex County Crime Unit, and the Regional Community Street Crime Unit executed a Cannabis Act enforcement raid on Wednesday at a greenhouse on Mersea Road in Leamington. They were joined by members of the OPP-led Provincial Joint Force Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET), OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, Emergency Response Team, and the Tactics and Rescue Unit.
Investigators searched the property and seized over 75,000 cannabis plants, along with over 5,300 pounds of processed cannabis. The estimated value of the pot was over $80 million, according to OPP Detective Inspector Jim Walker.
Ten people were arrested and charged under the Cannabis Act with possession of cannabis for trafficking, and growing cannabis at a place other than a private dwelling.
The suspects have been identified by the OPP as the following:
- Decai Kong, 47, of no fixed address.
- Shibin Li, 46, of no fixed address.
- Zhi Fang Lin, 47, North York.
- Rong Lu, 57, of no fixed address.
- Jian Po Mi, 52, of no fixed address.
- Zhiliang Shi, 48, of Scarborough.
- Ming Guang Wang, 35, of Markham.
- Xiu Xi You, 57, of Markham.
- Zhi Cai Zhang, 51, of no fixed address.
- Wei Zhu Zheng, 40, of Markham.
OPP Essex County Detachment Commander Glenn Miller said this raid is a big blow to the organized trafficking of illicit cannabis.
"The proliferation of illegal marijuana grow operations, as evidenced by this recent significant seizure in Leamington, demonstrates the resolve by criminal enterprise groups to profit from illegal activity. To those individuals or groups who continue to profit from these illegal grow operations, the OPP will relentlessly pursue your interests, seize your property and introduce you into the criminal justice system."