BURLINGTON, ON.
January 8, 2014
They are selling the stuff legally in Colorado where a member of their Legislature sent an email to her supporters Monday night with glowing praise for her state’s recreational marijuana sales, which began New Year’s Day.
“It was a big week in Colorado,” the legislator wrote. “Across the state, recreational marijuana was sold for the first time. And guess what? The world didn’t end.”
But in Burlington – raiding residences and seizing every ounce possible is the name of the game.
The police wanted the public to be fully aware of what they are doing and invited media to tag along on the raid that took place. Very early this morning members of the Integrated Drug, Gun and Gang Unit executed three Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrants within apartments situated at 41 Speers Road, Oakville.
Police located three highly sophisticated cannabis marihuana grow operations in each apartment. It is believe that all three locations are associated to one another and operated by the same suspect(s). Upon entry, police seized 1605 marihuana plants in various stages of growth and over 30 pounds of dried cannabis marihuana.
This investigation is currently ongoing and police are seeking the public assistance to identify the persons responsible. Police have information regarding one suspect who is described as an Asian female in her middle thirties.
Anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
Editor, why don’t you finish what you start then; dont leave the innocent accused hanging and the rest of us in the dark on a matter you expose publicly.
Random example: On July 15, 2013, you posted an article on one Christopher Bailey who was charged with cocaine trafficking; scheduled to appear in Milton Court August 2013.
So, what happened? Was Bailey innocent or was he charged and also convicted of the drug charge?
It would be nice to bring stories to more conclusive endings.
I don’t buy your philosophy of not identifying those you already identify by name. If you follow the logic of your philosophy then you must wait for the conclusion of the story, and only write about someone like Bailey after the court date; a retrospective report – that would be much more appropriate.
Editor’s note: Would that we could. It’s a matter of resources; we just don’t have someone who covers the courts for us. In time we will have a police reporter – but the revenue stream has to be put in place first. All in due course.
I would love to see the pictures of the accused, where they live, and as much information on them as possible, so all the victims can know where the negative effects on our community exist; even simply just for the purposes of fair play.
Once we identify these people, we can also show them how their drug dealing affects children and their families.
There’s a lot of stupid drug dealers out there that need some educating.
Editor’s note:
Would we not wait until the accused is found guilty before publishing the pictures?
Note to Editor: No, you publish the picture of the accused individual who was found babysitting a couple million dollars worth of illegal drugs, with a footnote stating the person is still innocent until proven guilty. Guilt can be determined on many different levels and degrees. In general, the drug world hates profile, and the risk of identity in the public forum would act as an excellent deterrent as well as a helpful means for police to track down the network of active drug participants more efficiently because you would have a lot more public input and provision of leads. Try it and see how effective such an approach can be; the police will be happy, and other victims will be glad to see they can provide assistance without always feeling frustrated that the drug world operates freely in stealth mode.
Editor’s note:
I am reminded of the case of nurse Susan Nelles. I will stick with the system we have, as imperfect as it is and leave the vigilante approach to those who lack a full understanding of just what justice is.
The Gazette did publish a picture of a man accused (but not convicted) in a sexual assault case on Jan 7/14. Does the Gazette have a picture of the accused in this “major drug bust” case? The article states “police are seeking the public assistance to identify the persons responsible”. One of the best ways to identify someone is with a picture.
Editor’s note: Pictures cannot be taken in a Court room. The police have in the past provided pictures; usually taken by a security camera. When they police say they want help in identifying someone they mean they would like any tips anyone can send in that would help them find the person. They ask people to use Crime Stoppers if they do not wish to identify themselves as tipsters.