Residents in a rural subdivision south of Okotoks say they are relieved a problem house in their neighbourhood has been dealt with.
Police swooped in on a house in the Silver Tip Ranch subdivision east of Aldersyde in the middle of the night Nov. 6.
Members of the Okotoks RCMP with help from the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigation Team raided the home on Silvertip Drive at 3 a.m. and found the basement full of marijuana plants.
“It was a fairly substantial grow-op,” said Sgt. Ian Shardlow of the Okotoks RCMP.
Shardlow said the grow-op was discovered after a bank foreclosed on the house. When a bank staff member went to the home to inspect it and change the lock, they found the grow operation.

This home at 25 Silvertip Drive near Aldersyde was the location of a grow-op raid by the Okotoks RCMP. No suspects were in the home at the time and no arrests have been made. photo by Bruce Campbell

The 1,200-square-foot basement was filled with the hydroponic operation. Officers found 375 mature and starter plants worth an estimated $468,000 on the street.
No one was in the house when it was raided.
A neighbour who lives next to the grow-op said the home has been a concern to people in the area for a few years. She asked not to be identified, but said she and her husband had problems in the past with the house next door.
“There was a lot of unusual things going on,” she said. “A lot of water was being produced and it was flowing into our backyard. We had to pump it out so our yard wouldn’t flood.”
She said her husband talked to someone they believed was a renter to try to solve the problem, but said the water didn’t stop flowing into their backyard until this summer.
They had little contact with anyone living in the home, she said, adding the house appeared abandoned for a period of time.
She said the house also drew the attention of people living in the area.
“Other neighbours were keeping an eye on it,” she said.
It is a relief that the criminal activity has been shut down, she said.
“Obviously, we want it to stop,” she said. “I’m glad it’s been taken care of.”
The police are continuing to investigate, but currently charges are not pending.

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