Manitoba files suit to seize rural properties in drug case

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is trying to seize three rural properties near Winnipeg it alleges were used by a man, who was linked to a licensed cannabis grow operation, to sell marijuana illegally.

The provincial director of criminal property forfeiture filed a lawsuit against a number of defendants this month, seeking to seize three properties in the Rural Municipality of Springfield where illicit cannabis grow ops are allegedly located.

The statement of claim alleges the properties, which were raided by RCMP on June 8, were purchased with unlawfully obtained money.

Court documents say RCMP seized between 1,350 and 1,450 cannabis plants from two of the properties and high-value retail goods, cannabis grow-op equipment, seeds and publications on cannabis farming from the third location.

On June 5, James Robert McGirr, 39 of Springfield, was charged with eight counts under the Cannabis Act, including possessing cannabis with the purpose of selling, selling to an adult and cultivation, as well as two counts of fraud over $5,000, court records show. McGirr was let out on a release order and is due in court in July.

McGirr, authorized cannabis producer Elevated Prairies Inc. and its director, a numbered company and two credit unions that issued mortgages on the properties have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Court papers reveal RCMP officers began to investigate and infiltrate a drug trafficking organization in 2018, and identified McGirr as an alleged member in the process.

The other man named in the lawsuit hasn’t been charged criminally.

Manitoba RCMP did not return a request for comment Tuesday.

The wide-reaching investigation mostly culminated in March 2022, when Mounties announced “Project Divergent” had resulted in 22 arrests after targeting five Canadian and international criminal networks, including one allegedly led by a full-patch Hells Angel.

RCMP said at the time it was the largest seizure of illicit drugs — including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and MDMA — in the provincial force’s history.

McGirr wasn’t charged at the time, records show, but court documents allege he was using two of the properties to grow, sell and store illicit cannabis. The third site was used to sell the cannabis and store the cash.

Court documents allege the licensed cannabis operation was initially incorporated with McGirr as its director. The corporation then named a new director, who is listed in the suit.

Under its initial structure, the firm applied to Health Canada for a commercial cannabis licence in 2019, but McGirr was denied security clearance because of his family’s alleged ties to drug trafficking. The corporation modified its application by removing McGirr from a position that would require security clearance, court papers say. It withdrew the application at the beginning of 2022. In May 2022 Elevated Prairies applied for a new licence after removing McGirr from the corporate paperwork.

Health Canada granted the licence to the company in February 2023, allowing it to legally grow cannabis at one of the Springfield properties.

Mounties allege McGirr controlled the operation although another man was named as director.

Another one of the properties had a medical grow license from 2021 to 2022, but is no longer valid.

Mounties allege in court papers that McGirr admitted to producing illicit cannabis and selling it on the black market throughout the country.

It’s alleged that while McGirr was under surveillance, he sold the illicit pot, including more than 40 pounds to an undercover cop for in excess of $40,000, in 2022.

None of the allegations has been proven in court. None of the defendants in the civil case has filed a statement of defence.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera