Medical marijuana operations busted in 2 Calgary neighbourhoods

Two Calgary men are facing criminal charges in connection to what police say is the illegal operation of medicinal marijuana grow-ops.

The two separate operations were discovered in Harvest Hills in the northeast and in Sherwood in the northwest, police said in a release.

The investigations were led by the Green Team of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).

Police say both men, who were arrested late last month, were licensed to grow medicinal marijuana but had violated the terms because the number of permitted plants was exceeded.

The men face several charges including possession for the purpose of trafficking and theft of utilities.

Both residences were deemed uninhabitable following a health inspection, police said.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta government as a compilation of the provinces most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.