By THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL - A Bloc Quebecois MP went from a lawmaker to a law enforcer this week, giving police a tip that led to the seizure of more than 15,000 cannabis plants in the same building where she has her riding office.
Maria Mourani, who represents the Montreal-area Ahuntsic riding, says workers in her riding office noticed a strange odour coming from the upper floors of the building for several days.
At first the smell was dismissed as the result of humidity in the old building but workers then began to think it was there to mask something else.
Montreal police investigated and seized 15,500 cannabis plants, the largest taken in an anti-street gang operation dubbed Operation Neon.
Police seized a total of 23,086 cannabis plants and 55 kilograms of marijuana and arrested 13 members of an Asian organized crime gang during raids this week.
Ironically, Mourani, who is the Bloc's spokeswoman on public safety issues, is widely known as an expert on street gangs.
Those arrested face charges of cultivating cannabis and possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
Winnipeg Free Press
