On the morning of Tuesday, November 10, many locals noticed emergency vehicles attending to a location in the area around Leclaire Road, near its intersection with Highway 200, in the RM of Ritchot.

Today, the RCMP has announced that the incident was a raid on a grow-op.

At 11:00 a.m. that day, the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP—with the assistance of the East District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST), the Emergency Response Team (ERT), and the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST)—executed a search warrant at a residence on Leclaire Road.

“Officers located a marijuana grow operation inside the residence,” reads a statement from the police. “RCMP seized approximately 40 marijuana plants, 225 grams of dried marijuana, 18 firearms, other weapons, and drug paraphernalia.”

A 37-year-old male has been arrested and is facing numerous charges in connection with the raid, including Possession of Illicit Cannabis, Possession of Cannabis for the Purpose of Selling, Cultivating more than four Cannabis Plants, and Cultivating Illicit Cannabis. These infractions all fall under the Cannabis Act.

The individual is also facing criminal charges of Possession of a Prohibited Weapon, and four separate charges of Firearms Storage Contrary to Regulations.

The investigation is ongoing.