Grower grew too much marijuana
A 64-year-old farmer who was enlisted to grow marijuana due to his proficiency in growing tomatoes will be sentenced in the new year for his role in a medical marijuana facility that police say grew thousands of plants illegally.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 19, 2016, Niagara Regional Police responded to a robbery which had occurred at a rural home on Pinecrest Road in Port Colborne.
The residents, Peter Muileboom and his wife, told police they had been confronted at gunpoint by a group of masked men who demanded drugs, cash and guns.
Police then discovered the property was being used as licensed medical marijuana facility.
The 2,700-square-metre greenhouse operation, formerly Muileboom Organics, and once backed by former prime minister John Turner, had three medical marijuana licences limiting production to about 400 plants.
Police, however, seized 3,390 marijuana plants in various stages of growth.
The NRP issued a statement shortly after the robbery, saying the additional illegal plants, once processed, would yield a profit of more than $1.5 million.
“This makes locations such as this one very vulnerable to the criminal subculture,” the NRP said. “The current robbery investigation at the Pinecrest Road location is a prime example.”
Police executed a search warrant at the property in March 2017 and seized almost 3,000 plants, which was 1,600 more than allowed.
Muileboom was subsequently arrested and charged with production of a controlled substance.
In Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday he pleaded guilty to the offence. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing Jan. 4.
Muileboom had grown tomatoes on the property for many years before selling the land, which had been in his family since 1962.
The new owner hired the defendant to oversee the pot production because he was a “very efficient tomato grower,” said federal prosecutor Darren Anger.
Muileboom received a salary and lived on the property rent free in exchange for supervising the greenhouse operation.
Anger told Judge Peter Wilkie that Muileboom was not the designated grower and only licenced growers, approved by Health Canada, are permitted to grow marijuana.
Defence lawyer Mark Evans said his client was simply an employee and did not profit from the operation.
Muileboom acknowledged he knew the number of plants far exceeded the legal amount.
He told police “I just do what I’m told. I have to listen to my boss.”