OPP seize more than 12,000 cannabis plants in Chapleau, charge 5

| Morton Robertson

Police in Chapleau, Ontario say they seized $12 million worth of cannabis and charged five following a raid on Wednesday, May 19. 

The raid, led by Superior East OPP and the OPP Street Crime division announced the raid on May 20 at a commercial property on Martel Road in Chapleau.

Police say they seized more than 12,000 plants in various stages of growth along with lighting and electrical equipment. Images shared by OPP show a large warehouse operation with thousands of plants. 

As a result of the investigation, Xingran Fan (21 years of age), Yang Liu (22 years of age), Xiaofang Wang (53 years of age), Fuxian Zhang (33 years of age) and Jing Zhang (35 years of age), all from the Greater Toronto area, were arrested and charged with: Cultivate, propagate or harvest any cannabis plant at a place that is not their dwelling-house, contrary to section 12(6)(a) of the Cannabis Act (CA).

Recently, a court dismissed most charges associated with a large raid in Norfolk County Ontario from late last year, since the owners of the property had authorizations for medical cannabis production.