A 45-year-old Lake Cowichan man has been released from custody, after local police found over 400 marijuana plants in a McLean Road residence, near Skutz Falls.
The discovery came as a result of Lake Cowichan's RCMP's escorting of Comox Valley bailiffs, who were enforcing a court order.
"The area is fairly secluded, and cell phone service isn't very good," Lake Cowichan RCMP Cst. Marcus Skinner said, of the local police escort to the residence.
During this initial visit to the property, a number of small marijuana plants were found, inspiring RCMP to obtain a search warrant.
The search warrant was executed on Thursday, January 20, during which time the over 400 plants were discovered, in addition to equipment used for the plants' production, and two unlicensed guns, including a loaded hand gun.
All of these items were seized, with the plants to be destroyed.
"By our standards, this is a moderate to big seizure," Skinner said.
Whereas grow-operations in the Lower Mainland tend to boast thousands of plants, Cowichan Lake area seizures tend to include small-scale grow operations, from a few plants in a garden, to a few hundred indoors.
"We deal with quite a few," Skinner said.
This January 20 seizure included plants grown indoors.
The penalty for such a grow operation varies quite a bit, Skinner said, adding that it could include potential jail time.
The 45-year-old suspect has been released from custody, and is scheduled to appear in provincial court in March.