Charges of marijuana cultivation are pending after Port Alberni RCMP seized a sizeable crop of B.C. bud this week.

At a press conference held at the RCMP detachment Friday morning, Staff Sgt. Lee Omilusik displayed a bright green 10-foot long row of plants that were 8-feet tall, as well as 25-30 orange garbage bags filled to the brim with pot plants.

According to Omilusik, the value of the 250 plants is $140,000.

“As you can see they’re quite healthy,” Omilusik said.

Organized crime doesn’t appear to be involved, unlike other Valley seizures where it appears they were, Omilusik said.

Acting on a tip, police obtained a search warrant and searched a property in the 6600 block of Beaver Creek Road on Thursday, Aug. 27.

No one has been arrested, but the investigation is active, and police know who owns the property, Omilusik said.

“The owner may rent or lease the property, there’s all kinds of variables,” he said.

The property was vacant when police arrived on Thursday, and although the operation was an outdoor one plants weren’t visible from the road, Omilusik said.

Police secured the property after finding no booby-traps, and machetied down the crop, he said.

The operation looked like a simple one where property occupants watered and tended to the plants.

Police have taken some plant samples for court purposes. They’ve also applied for a Health Canada permit to incinerate the crop at an Island facility, and would probably do so Friday afternoon, Omilusik said.

Fumes and the risk of combustion prevent police from storing the plants for too long inside the local detachment, he said.

But storing plants at the new building is better than storing them at the old one.

“We had to send staff home for the day, the fumes would get that bad in the old building,” Omilusik said.

August and September is prime harvest time, so “That’s why you’ll see more of these at this time of year,” Omilusik said about the seizure.

The Beaver Creek seizure was the second this week.

Police seized 114 plants near Loon Lake, which is crown land, earlier in the week.

Crown land is public, and no warrant was required, Omilusik said.