Men held after grow-op swoop

CLARA HO

Two Lethbridge men face drug charges after more than 1,600 marijuana plants were seized from what police are calling one of the largest outdoor grow operations the city has ever seen.

Lethbridge officers were conducting a curfew check on Monday at a home in the 900 block of 13th Street N. when they discovered the outdoor grow op.

More than 1,600 plants with a street value of over $800,000 were seized, along with 698 grams of dried marijuana, six grams of cannabis resin and a small amount of cash.

“On a commercial scale, we rarely see outdoor grow ops within city limits,” said Staff Sgt. Wes Houston of the special enforcement unit. “Typically, they are known to be more in the rural settings.”

This operation posed a high risk to the occupants because cannabis resin was being produced and uses highly combustible chemicals, Houston said.

“It’s not uncommon for us to have explosions when people make cannabis resin,” Houston said.

In October 2010, a man was taken to hospital and later charged after an explosion erupted while he was producing cannabis resin, Houston said.

The subject of the curfew check is not believed to be linked to the grow op, but two other occupants were arrested at the home.

Ryan Thomas Rockman, 41, has been charged with two counts of production of a controlled substance and one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and proceeds of crime.

Brent Allen Oczko, 43, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance.