MAGNETAWAN – A Machar Township man faces a charge of production of a controlled substance after the OPP turned up about $370,000 worth of marijuana plants on a Magnetawan property.
On Aug. 28, the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau North Bay Drug Enforcement Team supported by the Emergency Response Team conducted a Controlled Drugs and Substance Act investigation at the Nelson Lake Road property resulting in the seizure of more than 370 plants.
Det. Sgt. Chad Culbert says the plants found in the outdoor grow-op on the rural property were in a vegetative state and would have been ready for harvest within a month.
The charges were part of an ongoing investigation that has been going on for about a month as part.
A 57-year-old Machar Township man was arrested at the scene, and is not the property owner.
Culbert would not say whether the owner of this water access property was involved, adding that the investigation is continuing.
“It is actually very common for individuals to grow on someone else’s rural property, especially if it is not utilized,” said Culbert. “Or if someone is not on the property all the time.”
This is most common at hunt camps, on agricultural properties or on forestry and mining properties.