NEWS: "Man's home 'invaded' by government search of fish tanks" CBC news

[Ross]

A Surrey BC home was searched as it was potential grow op, but all they found were aquariums.


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mans-home-i...092801612.html

[TaioneReefer]

haha another one of those stories.
especially with the new smart meters.
but sucks that he had to pay 800 to get it inspected?

[sphelps]

Residents first get a written notice that says if they don’t consent to a search within 48 hours, the team will seek a warrant.

That's interesting, personally I think I'd let them seek a warrant, I didn't know using a certain amount of hydro is considered probable cause for a search warrant.

[Gripenfelter]

I have a friend who is an electrician. He made me change all my wiring around because it was illegal apparently.

[reefwars]

I wonder now long before they hit my place LOL I'd make thm get a warrant as well just cause I'm difficult LOLl

[globaldesigns]

Another reason I have my aquarium upstairs in the bonus room. Yeah, my house glows like a grow op, but you can see the aquarium from the sidewalk. If I get a visit, it will be from a blind cop!

[sphelps]

It's just how they did it. If a officer showed up at my door politely saying there have been some reports regarding constant lighting and electricity blah blah blah and he asked if he just take a look around I would no issue. But if I got a freaking letter saying I have no choice in the matter and some inspection van and RCMP are going to show up and tape my house up while the neighbors watch... I don't think freaking think so. They'd be talking to my lawyer is minutes, I don't think it's quite that legal, I never signed any document when I set up our electric that would allow searches based on consumption.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I didn't know using a certain amount of hydro is considered probable cause for a search warrant.

It is in BC. BC is "Bud Capital" ya know.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Myka

It is in BC. BC is "Bud Capital" ya know.

Doesn't matter. From an article:

It was well before Fall of 1997, and police were trying to collect evidence to bust "Bob Erb". When they came up empty-handed, officers likely decided it was time to make something up. So they made a call on BC Hydro, and asked how much power Erb was using. Police then went to a JP with the claim that Erb's usage was abnormally high and secured a warrant to bust him in August.

When Erb discovered how they had obtained the warrant, he called up BC Hydro himself, and got a very different story.

"The BC Hydro manager said he could not tell by expenditure whether it was a grow operation or not," says Erb, "he also said they don't speculate to the police about that. He told me that every family is different. Some families have all the lights on outside all night long, a hot tub, powertools, a shop, while others don't?"

The Hydro manager was also prepared to testify in court. But Erb's case didn't make it that far. His case was dropped in November of 1998. Erb wanted to go to court to reveal how police sometimes lie to obtain warrants.

"I was denied the right to a preliminary hearing to cross examine the officer," Bob Erb recalls. "We know that the charges were stayed, but we don't know why. My lawyer was the former prosecutor. Now he won't tell me why the charges were stayed. He has left town and is not returning my calls."

More astute police officers might claim that they skirted the boundaries of the property and did not see a hot tub, a shop or anything else to indicate an unusually high power usage. According to John Conroy, it still may not be enough for police to justify their warrants in court. He recalls a case known as "Regina vs Wayne Hiney," in which Stanley Tessmer appeared as counsel.

"Police said no other visible signs of consumption were evident that would account for elevated use of hydro," Conroy says, "But the officer also admitted that her view of the yard was obstructed, so the officer may not have been able to see if there was a hot tub."

As a result of Tessmer's cross-examination, the police claim that Hiney had unusually high hydro consumption was struck from evidence.

Basically a warrant obtained for the bases of high usage along will not hold up in court and chances are getting a warrant based on that alone is no longer possible.

The hole letter thing has nothing to do with busting operations, it's a simple means of disrupting them. If a grower got the letter they would likely move their plants rather than taking any risks.

[Reef Pilot]

In BC, there is little point catching and prosecuting grow-opers. Even if they get a conviction (very hard with current laws and constitution), judges will not give them much if any jail time. Only winners are the lawyers and people in the system, and just adds to our govt costs.

Best they can do is disrupt them, and go after landlords, which they are trying to do.