Leamington garage fire leads to massive pot seizure

OPP say investigation of a garage fire in Leamington led to the seizure of more than 140 kilograms of cannabis, cannabis oils and resins last week.

The fire happened during the afternoon of Jan. 29, at a garage in the 500 block of Mersea Road 8.

Leamington firefighters and OPP officers arrived on the scene to find the structure already engulfed in flames.

After the fire was extinguished, investigators examined the remnants of the garage and discovered several items related to illicit cannabis production.

The next day, Essex County OPP executed a search warrant on a location — finding about 80 kilograms of dried cannabis and 60 kilograms of cannabis oils and resins.

Also seized was a kilogram of a hardened cannabis resin known by the street name “shatter.”

Shatter is a high-potency solid derived from butane hash oil. Cannabis extracts in this form can reach 90 per cent THC — the psychoactive component of cannabis.

OPP estimate the total street value of the seizure at $500,000.

Douglas Johnstone, 56, of Chatham, has been charged with altering the chemical or physical properties of cannabis by use of an organic solvent — a violation under the production section of the Cannabis Act of Canada.

Johnstone is scheduled for a court appearance in Leamington on March 19.

Essex County OPP said their street crime unit, the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Clandestine Laboratory Investigative Response Team are continuing to investigate.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477 or www.catchcrooks.com.