The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) along with Airdrie RCMP and the Southern Alberta Emergency Response Team busted a grow-op west of Airdrie on May 22, according to a release sent on May 26.
A tip from the public led ALERT to make the bust.
“From the CrimeStoppers program, we did have a tip that we worked up and we were able to confirm that there was a marijuana grow operation taking place on that rural property just west of Airdrie,” said ALERT Spokesman Staff Sergeant Keith Hurley.
Officers seized 700 marijuana plants valued at an estimated $912,500.
Clifford Clayton Favel, 38, was arrested and faces multiple charges including production of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Hurley said Favel has a long criminal record, however, this was his first arrest for the production and trafficking of marijuana.
ALERT officers also seized a semi-automatic handgun and ammunition from the property. The handgun was described by police as a High Standard Supermatic.
Two licenses for the medicinal growing of marijuana were found at the property but were not valid.
The grow-op was located in a quonset on a rural property west of Airdrie on Range Road 22 north of Simons Valley Road, according to Hurley.
ALERT’S Green Team, comprised of officers from the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and RCMP, dismantled the grow-op. In 2014, the Green Team detected and dismantled more than 200 grow-ops across Alberta.
ALERT is operated and funded by the Alberta government and is a sophisticated integrated unit tasked with tackling serious and organized crime. Members come from the RCMP, Alberta Sheriffs, CPS, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Regional Police Service and the Medicine Hat Police Service.
For tips on how to recognize a grow-op, visit alert-ab.ca, click on the Public Safety tab and select Marijuana Grow-Ops from the list.
If you have any information on any crime, call the Airdrie RCMP detachment at (403) 945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)
