6000 plant bust

[jimbojones5678]

Barb Pacholik

The Regina Leader-Post

Thursday, January 24, 2008

 

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An RCMP raid turned up a marijuana grow operation like this province had never seen before — 6,000 plants, guns, roadblocks, and the potential for a $3-million profit, a Regina courtroom heard Wednesday.

 

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Darrell Blais told the seven-woman, five-man jury the case involves “one of the largest and potentially most profitable cannabis marijuana productions in Saskatchewan history.”

 

Lawrence Hubert Agecoutay, 52, Chester Fernand Girard, 59, Nelson Edward Northwood, 58, Jack Allan Northwood, 55, Joseph Clayton Agecoutay, 47, and Robert Stanley Agecoutay, 48, are charged with unlawful production of marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking between April 1 and Aug. 21, 2005, stemming from the search on the Pasqua First Nation, near Fort Qu’Appelle. All but Nelson Northwood are also facing a weapons possession charge, while Robert Agecoutay alone is also charged with being in possession of a prohibited weapon — a sawed-off shotgun. Girard has an additional charge of forcible entry of a house.

 

As Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Frank Gerein introduced each of the defence lawyers and their clients to the jury, Girard clarified that he was the one in the white hemp jacket.

 

Blais said the Crown expects to prove Girard and the Agecoutays planned to share a profit of more than $2 million. The Northwoods later joined Girard and Lawrence Agecoutay, arrested at his Regina home, to grow pot expected to turn a profit of $1 million to be divided three ways. Robert and Joseph Agecoutay looked after guarding the plants, “using fences, roadblocks and weapons,” he added.

 

RCMP Const. Les Donison, who at that point had only been a Mountie for about a year, became the lead investigator. Asked by the defence why a rookie officer was in charge of the biggest bust in Saskatchewan, Donison said no one knew the scope of the operation until the Aug. 21 raid.

 

Donison had been getting information for about four months from people on and off the reserve. Three days before the search, he went up in a plane and took pictures of the suspected location and what appeared to be several large greenhouses.

 

Donison said officers conducting the search encountered roadblocks made of cattle panels chained together as well as engine blocks. Officers found Joseph Agecoutay inside his residence, while Robert Agecoutay was in his nearby home with Jack Northwood. Two large greenhouse-type structures were discovered near Robert Agecoutay’s house, while a trail through the trees led to six more makeshift greenhouses, about 10 metres by 50 metres in size.

 

Four more marijuana plots were also on the site, as was a white teepee from which three people fled, leaving behind a notebook that resembled a payroll list with about a dozen names and their hours worked.

 

Blais told court the trio who fled was tracked for more than 14 kilometres through the bush. As police were catching up, the three, including Girard, burst into a residence and asked the owner to hide them.

 

Court heard Brian McConnell, then 18, was also arrested during that chase. He is expected to testify as a Crown witness. Pressed by the defence about what RCMP told the teen to get his co-operation, Donison said he and another officer told McConnell about the serious nature of the charges he was facing and the potential outcome. Donison said the RCMP were more interested in pursuing those they believed were primarily responsible, rather than “ruining a young boy’s life” when he was essentially a labourer.

 

None of the other workers, whose names appeared in the payroll document, were charged.

 

The Crown is expected to call 22 witnesses during the trial, scheduled for two to three weeks.

[Pam]

It sounds to me like they were on an Indian reservation or the Canadian equivalent. Not sure but in the US, those have thier own government and police.

I guess the ppl there know now why it's been so dry 'eh?

[WantDaChronic]

that is a lot to get busted for