CRIMINALS appear to have found a use for the as-yet-undeveloped Evelyn Drive property in West Vancouver: growing marijuana.
A West Vancouver police officer caught a whiff of the illegal plants while responding to a traffic collision at the nearby Taylor Way-Keith Road intersection July 30.
"While conducting her investigation, she smelled a strong odour of pungent marijuana," said Cpl. Jag Johal, a West Vancouver police spokesman.
Two other officers arrived with a police dog to help search the area. The investigators found 10 plants growing in containers hidden behind some trees on an undeveloped lot.
"All 10 plants appeared to be near the harvest stage," said Johal. "It was a great find for us, and now we are determining who is responsible for this. We're trying to figure out from the evidence collected if there are any forensics than can link someone to this."
While he said the empty land wasn't really a concern for police, they do keep tabs on who might be making use of the fenced-off real estate.
"Any time you have a site like that, it's going to attract visitors," he said. "We are most certainly aware of it. We make routine patrols of the area and you will see us around with our dogs."
The 20-acre Evelyn project, years in the planning, went into receivership March 15 after owner Millennium Evelyn Properties Ltd. ran into financial trouble.
