A raid on a suspected grow op in Guelph has ended with the arrest of one man and the seizure of marijuana, plants, growing equipment and weapons valued at over half a million dollars.
Around 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, the Guelph Police Service raided an apartment on Waterloo Avenue, after receiving information earlier in the month about a possible grow op.
Guelph Police Sgt. Doug Pflug says "We didn't just take a street level dealer out, we took out a supplier of those street level dealers so this is multi-levelled in the arrest."
James Pauley, 38, of Guelph, has been charged with production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. He is being held in custody.
About 8.6 kilograms of marijuana with a street value of $86,000 was seized along with 432 starter plants with a future value of $432,000 and $10,000 in growing equipment. A number of pellet rifles, knives and swords were also recovered.
Police hope the bust will put a dent in local drug dealing and the crimes associated with it.
Guelph Police Deputy Chief Bryan Larkin says "Often what we see is a push out to other crimes, break-ins, thefts from other vehicles, robberies. And so our commitment is to really focus and target those who want to traffic narcotics in our community and then work away at other crimes as well."
Police are also crediting the community in this case with providing helpful information.
