• Submitted by: manso
• International
• 12 / 21 / 2010

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Arrest capped a 6-year investigation into the case of a massive marijuana plantation inside a brewery
A leader of a huge marijuana-producing operation in Canada was arrested in Havana on Dec. 13 and taken back to Canada, The Toronto Star reported Tuesday.

Robert Derosa, 51, was seized as he prepared to board a plane to Ecuador, the paper said. He was sought on an Interpol warrant.

Derosa was one of 12 people charged in October of this year, six years after Canadian police found 30,000 marijuana plants in a (ont) converted brewery in the Barrie district of Toronto. He had left for Cuba the day before the warrants were issued, two months ago.

"The Cuban authorities were very cooperative and very eager to assist the [Ontario Provincial Police]," a Canadian police officer told The Star.

According to the newspaper, the marijuana plantation occupied the entire brewery, which contained hidden cameras, high-tech irrigation systems, more than 1,000 hydroponic lights and dormitory housing for about 50 workers at a time.

Nine "gardeners" were arrested at the time of the raid, in January 2004. The ringleaders eluded the police for years, but several – Derosa among them – were arrested in the past two months.

Source: /miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2010/12/