Pot luck: Grow-op busted, no charges laid
A married Kamloops couple will walk without criminal charges after police uncovered a marijuana-grow operation on their property — and then dismantled it without a search warrant.
Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said two officers working on an unrelated investigation in Barnhartvale on Sunday, Nov. 18, were alerted to a home on Country Place after noticing a strong “vegetative odour” in the area.
The Mounties knocked on the door and spoke to a 51-year-old Kamloops man and his 47-year-old wife, who apparently admitted to having a 100-plant grow-op and four rifles in an outbuilding on their property.
Learned said the officers dismantled the grow-op and seized the firearms — which the owners agreed to relinquish.
Because it was all done without a warrant, Learned said any charges against the couple would not have stood up in court.
“It’s not a case where the Crown would likely approve charges,” he said, noting a 100-plant grow-op would result in criminal charges in other circumstances.
“They would have been required to obtain a warrant,” Learned said of the officers involved.
“In this particular case, they were on the property when the grow-op was discovered.”
Learned said police had received no previous complaints from neighbours about the marijuana-grow operation, noting neither of the growers were previously known to police.
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