Real estate agents used rental homes to grow pot:

[boulder]

"Source: National Post

 

Two real estate agents were the ringleaders of a $35- million cannabis-growing operation using the homes of innocent people, police revealed yesterday.

 

The two agents arranged for 56 homes to be used for harvesting more than 35,000 marijuana plants in the greater Toronto, London and Ottawa regions, said Constable Steve Morrell of the York Regional Police.

 

Homeowners would approach the two agents to lease their homes, but instead they turned them into drug dens, he said.

 

"The ringleaders would make out false names and information, like references; after all, they were the ones responsible for checking these things out.

 

"Then they leased them to themselves. They would pay rent. If you were one of the people leasing out your home, then as far as you knew, John Smith, or whoever, is renting the house and everything is okay," Const. Morrell said.

 

He said the homes were in the middle to upper-middle end of the market.

 

At a news conference yesterday, police revealed that officers from seven police services raided 56 homes used to grow marijuana on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

"It is our intention to continue with these types of investigations to target the individuals responsible for the set-up of these grow houses," said a police statement.

 

As well as 35,518 marijuana plants, police also seized almost $1- million, six houses and two vehicles under proceeds of crime legislation.

 

Damage to the houses used by one of the agents has cost one insurance company $925,000 in repairs since June.

 

Arrested were John Trac and Jennifer Wu, who are among 39 people charged with 120 offences including conspiracy to produce a controlled substance, trafficking, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance, and conspiracy to steal electricity.

 

Police said Ms. Wu worked for Remax Realty in Markham, Ont., and Mr. Trac for Living Realty in Markham, although the companies did not know about what was alleged to have taken place.

 

Karen Meshwork, manager of the Remax office where Ms. Wu worked, said she was shocked to hear of the arrests.

 

Based on the number of homes, police estimate that $1-million worth of electricity was stolen.

[BlackBeauty]

Smart, but down-right silly! Gives us a bad name! Thiefs...what can I say, they are real estate agents

 

(j/k no offence to any real-estate agents here)

[Guest Urbanhog]

Smart, but down-right silly!  Gives us a bad name!  Thiefs...what can I say, they are real estate agents

 

(j/k no offence to any real-estate agents here)

Yeah I hate real estates agents, in fact I always give mine who look after my house for the landlord, a real hard time and wasting their times ::

 

For example, this is the most common, and I love giving them the shits with this, as I have house inspections every 3 months, which I dont have a problem with, they send me a notice from the rental tenancies dept, forgot what they are called, it of states that they have approved the landlord's permission for inspection, etc.. and they often always arrive 1-2 hours late of the "approved entery times", (eg, if the approved times says 11am-1pm, they offen arrive at 2pm-3pm) and they just about to enter at the door into the front room, and I am standing there and they get bit surprised to see me there as I didn't answer the door, and I said... well what are you doing? and they youngish yuppie fuckhead replied, "um I um I am doing house inspection, we have you the notice 1-2 weeks ago" and I said "Yeah sure, no worries, I know that, but look closer at the "approved entry times" on the notice you send me" and he loooked at it then his watch, and I said "Yeah I know, you ar late, and you are bloody trespassing" and he just said oh come on, let me do my job, etc.. blah blah and I just stood firm and made him get out.

 

Of course he was pissed off, cos he has to make the application for entry approval all over again... heheh

 

Also I hate real estate's gardeners that look after the garden every 2-3 weeks, they of always bunch of lazy pricks just arrive, give a quick mow'n'blow just using a blower to clean up, never bothering to rack it up and put in the fuck'in bin, it was starting to piss me off, and out of boredom, I started taking piccies of them doing the job then simply email the piccies to the real estate :: and just kept making complaints about the gardeners, and kept giving them hard time and making them uncomfortable by just standing outside and having a stubby of VB while watching the gardeners heheh then finally I started watering the lawn until it gets realy wet in mornings on the day they usually arrive so they will have to mow the lawns wet and makes them diffcult to move the wet clippings and have green grass clippings stains al over them heheh I am a arsehole I know *chuckles* but at the end, I won ended up got the job so I can get $10 off the rent a fortnight, just clean the yard for 30mins every forntight, and the best thing was the Landlord was very happy to buy plants for the garden so thats where I started collecting "enthnobotany" plants to mix with normal plants at the expenses of my landlord! She never asked any questions what plants I brought, she just wanted the dockets to claim in her tax thingy.....

 

Even I have silly games withe real estates, yet I am still in the landlord's good books

 

I have heard a lot of similar reports over the years how real estate agents use rental houses for marijunana growing.

 

But there's one thing makes me wonder about the police/media's reports about the "number of plants VS their actual worth?" like this above report: "35,518 marijuana plants, police also seized almost $1- million"

 

what happens if they are just small plants/clones in "sea of green style" not "big plants?" ??

 

Cheers, Urbanhog

[pipeman]

you're right urbanhog you are an asshole

 

in terms of the plants I think stonedas commented that you could achieve 10grams per plant, so whith 35,000 plants thats about 11,700 ounces @ $300 per ounce = 3.5mil, not 35 million as reported and there's every chance a shitload of those were mothers/clones/vegging.

[nouseforaname]

hey,

If the buggers find your garbage with dead clones, stems etc each of them are also valued at 1000$.... also depends if its perpetual and they are working the value over the time the properties have been leased. Can get really petty but ive also heard of people getting off scott free cause they crap went moldy and wasnt identifiable. But also depends how good a lawyer