MIDLAND — Police have shut down a major cannabis grow operation at a vacant Midland factory.
Members of the OPP’s organized crime enforcement branch along with officers from the Southern Georgian Bay detachment’s street crime unit executed a search warrant as part of a Cannabis Act investigation at about 6 p.m., Monday.
“Officers located 10,000 growing cannabis plants,” said Southern Georgian Bay OPP Const. Aaron Coulter.
Coulter said no arrests were made at the scene or have yet been made, but that the police investigation is ongoing.
As close to a dozen officers stood outside the building Tuesday, an open factory door provided a glimpse of the operation’s scope as both a large quantity of cut marijuana as well as a well-lit factory floor with drop-down lighting were visible.
It’s not known who currently owns the commercial building located at 16567 Highway 12, but Coulter said that is part of the OPP’s ongoing investigation.
According to a local realtor listing that has the building and land priced at just under $5 million on its website, “this 84,000-sq.-ft. building on 6.36 acres has excellent Highway 12 exposure just east of King Street in Midland.”
At one time, the black-and-white, rectangular-shaped building was home to Bruin Engineered Parts Inc., which made aluminum products and closed up shop in 2007.
It most recently served as a manufacturing location for Forte EPS Solutions Inc. by Amvic, which makes expanded polystyrene geofoam high density rigid insulation products.
But a company spokeswoman said they never actually owned the building, but rather leased it. As well, she noted Amvic stopped operating in Midland more than a year ago and shifted production to its plant in Scarborough.
