HALDIMAND COUNTY — Ontario Provincial Police say officers seized cannabis products with an estimated value of more than $4.6 million during a September search of a Highway 54 property.

Two men have been charged under the federal Cannabis Act. The allegations have not been tested in court, and police say a third person who fled the property remains outstanding.

Police list plants and processed cannabis

The OPP Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team began investigating after receiving information through an earlier investigation. Officers executed a search warrant on September 22 with assistance from other OPP units and the Haldimand County Fire Department.

Police reported seizing approximately 9,110 cannabis plants valued at $4.5 million, 60 kilograms of cannabis shake valued at $20,000, 45 kilograms of cannabis resin valued at $70,700 and 2.5 kilograms of dried cannabis valued at $5,600.

Those valuations are police estimates. No court has determined the value, legality or ownership of the seized material.

Two accused due in court

Police charged a 45-year-old North York man and a 44-year-old Maple man with cultivating cannabis at a place that was not their dwelling house and possessing cannabis for the purpose of selling.

Both accused are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cayuga on December 22. Charges are allegations, and each accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Property ordered vacated

Investigators also reported structural, electrical and fire-safety hazards. Authorities ordered the residence closed to occupancy, disconnected hydro service and asked Haldimand County bylaw officers to attend.

The investigation remains open. Police asked anyone with information to contact the OPP or Crime Stoppers.

Sources: CHCH News, October 13; BarrieToday account based on the OPP release, October 13; Kawartha 411 reproduction of OPP details, October 13.

Lead image: public-domain U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration file photograph of cannabis plants in a grow house, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image; it does not show the Haldimand County property.