Pot plant heist in Alberta unlikely

Cremona facility ‘safest out there’

The daring armed heist at a large medical marijuana facility in southern Ontario could not likely be repeated at Alberta’s only licensed pot producer near Cremona, says a rural councillor.

Early Monday morning, Niagara Regional Police said a group of armed culprits robbed Muileboom Organics, a 30,000-squarefoot greenhouse operation in Port Colborne that grows medical marijuana.

Witnesses told Postmedia that the group, of which five have been arrested and charged with various firearms offences, forcible confinement and disguise with intent, had used a U-Haul truck as part of the attempted robbery to cart away marijuana plants.

Police remain on the lookout for five others believed to have participated in the heist.

Aurora Cannabis Inc., which operates a 55,200-square-foot facility just outside the Village of Cremona, about 80 kilometres northwest of Calgary, is Alberta’s only licensed producer of medical marijuana, but the area’s councillor isn’t worried about copycats attempting a similar raid here.

“To be blunt, when Aurora first came here, one of the concerns we heard from residents was the potential it would bring crime to the area,” said Mountain View County Coun. Patricia McKean, who also serves as the rural municipality’s deputy reeve.

“When you hear that’s happened (in Ontario), it’s alarming, but Aurora has gone above and beyond when it comes to safety standards.

“I think they’re the safest (medical marijuana operation) out there.”

The Port Colborne facility was in the process of applying for a Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations licence from Health Canada.

Aurora is one of 35 MMPR-licensed facilities in Canada, and spokesman Cam Battley said security at the site would be much more difficult for intruders to bypass.

“We’ve got 150 cameras and 24-hour, on-site security. They basically would need to have a tank to get through our security fencing,” Battley said.