Gazette - New Technology Could Help Bust Grow OPS

NEWS NOTES

by Caroline Ross

A new Canadian technology may do more than help curb electricity theft, it could also put a damper on marijuana grow operations that suck stolen power.

The wireless electrical meter suite — designed by Calgary-based dTechs Electrical Profile Management Ltd. — monitors electricity usage along a primary power line and alerts utility providers to instances of excessive consumption. It’s then up to the power companies to address the situation, either by cutting power to the offending homes or by notifying police of suspected criminal activity.

“We see electricity theft in about 95 per cent of (the) grow operations (we investigate),” says Sgt Keith Hurley of the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigation Team (SAMIT), a unit comprised of officers from the Calgary Police Service and the Alberta RCMP.

Hurley estimates that SAMIT busts about 10 per cent of the active grow operations in Calgary each year, thanks largely to tips provided by public and police sources. Thousands of operations remain undetected, he says.

The meter technology has the potential to help locate more grow operations, particularly those that don’t have outwardly visible indicators like blackened basement windows. However, Hurley stresses that law enforcement will only benefit from the technology if utility companies endorse the tool and commit to reporting instances of atypical power consumption.

That’s what’s happening in Calgary, where dTechs has been testing the tool in collaboration with local utility providers and SAMIT.

During one test in May 2008, the tool pinpointed four residences that were drawing excessive power within a neighbourhood of 927 homes. SAMIT later seized $750,000 worth of marijuana plants and over 31 kilograms of packaged marijuana from two of the four homes.

Hurley emphasizes that electricity theft is only part of the puzzle in grow-op investigations. “We have an obligation to find more evidence than just power theft,” says the Calgary Police officer, noting that tips and surveillance remain crucial tools.

The meter technology is the brainchild of Roger Morrison, a former Calgary Police Service drug sergeant who has investigated over 750 grow operations. Morrison founded dTechs in 2005.