19000 Plants siezed in NB (pic)

[MrJim]

N.B. RCMP seize 19,000 pot plants






ADAMSVILLE, N.B. (CP) - More than 19,000 marijuana plants were seized on the weekend from a remote area in eastern New Brunswick in what RCMP officials called one of the largest marijuana busts in the country.


The plants were found in Adamsville, about 45 kilometres northwest of Moncton, on Saturday.


An RCMP spokesman said the plants were located in a field behind a private residence.


Sgt. Dave Mazerolle said the 36-hectare field, surrounded by trees, had been cleared and fenced off. "A lot of work had been done to the field."


It took almost two dozen officers more than 11 hours to load the plants onto dump trucks.


Two men believed to be in their 30s were arrested after RCMP executed a search warrant at the home on the property.


Both men were to appear in provincial court in nearby Richibucto on Monday to face drug charges.


One of the men was also expected to face immigration-related charges.


Mazerolle said the bust is the largest ever in Atlantic Canada, and could be the third largest in the country.


"We were looking at maximum 5,000 (plants), that's what we had planned for," he said.


"But when you start cutting and start piling them up, you start noticing that, wow, there's a lot more here than what we thought."