Binky
04-22-2006, 04:58 PM
BC: Grow op team tags wrong house
http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals/uploads/surrey/.DIR288/Kutchukgozen_family_060421.jpg
EVAN SEAL THE LEADER
From left: Tina, Vanessa (nine months old) and
Armand Kucukgozen were suspected of having
a marijuana grow op in their house. An allegedly
high Hydro bill alerted authorities, but Armand
says power consumption at his Clayton-area
home is ‘average.’
By Kevin Diakiw
Staff Reporter
Apr 21 2006
A Clayton-area man with a Dobermann pinscher and a love for expensive vehicles has been tagged by Surrey’s new municipal grow op team.
However, Armand Kucukgozen doesn’t have a marijuana grow operation in his home, and he’s furious at being stereotyped.
Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis says his staff are now reviewing the issue.
On Tuesday, Kucukgozen’s home was hit by the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative team, which has attended 271 residences since its inception in March, 2005.
Out of that, 243 turned out to be electrical hazards, many of them likely grow operations.
The remaining 28 were either false leads or homes with secondary suites that had high power consumption.
Under the program, fire officials – acting on police tips – attend homes with extraordinarily high electrical consumption (typical of a grow op) and ask the resident to allow a city inspection of the home.
If no one is home, a request is left at the door to permit an inspection within 48 hours. Failure to comply results in power being shut off to the home.
“The program is in its infancy, and these evaluations are taken seriously,” Garis said Tuesday. “There are instances where there is some room for improvement.”
Garis wouldn’t comment on Kucukgozen’s situation specifically except to say staff are reviewing the processes that led them to the home.
Kucukgozen, a 25-year-old partner with Sam’s Flooring in Langley, said his career affords him some of the finer things in life, and the fact that some people interpret that as involvement in drugs in troubling.
“I got a Dobermann pinscher outside, I drive a $60,000 Dodge Ram, my wife’s got a $30,000 truck, I’ve got a $40,000 boat in the yard,” he said. “You can’t make decent money in this town without people thinking you’re a drug dealer?”
He says his wife and eight-month-old child were traumatized.
“All these cops showed up to the house, they wouldn’t let my wife out of the car.”
He says his Hydro bill doesn’t qualify as evidence for a search.
“They keep going on that it was Hydro,” Kucukgozen said, adding his highest monthly bill for his 3,000-sq.-ft. home in the past several months was $210.
“That’s average... I’m the laughing stock of my frigging town,” Kucukgozen said.
Kucukgozen’s complaint of unfair treatment comes as the provincial legislature considers Bill 25, which would compel electrical companies to provide consumption records to municipalities.
Civil libertarians says the legislation is heavy handed and unnecessary.
B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis also has concerns about the proposed legislation.
In an April 6 letter to Rich Coleman, minister for housing, Loukidelis expressed worries over the frequency of such legislation.
“Such initiatives are multiplying at all levels of government in Canada and are cause for concern,” Loukidelis wrote. “They are in my view, to be avoided wherever possible, including because they are not subject to prior approval by the courts.”
http://www.surreyleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=73&cat=23&id=632723&more=
http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals/uploads/surrey/.DIR288/Kutchukgozen_family_060421.jpg
EVAN SEAL THE LEADER
From left: Tina, Vanessa (nine months old) and
Armand Kucukgozen were suspected of having
a marijuana grow op in their house. An allegedly
high Hydro bill alerted authorities, but Armand
says power consumption at his Clayton-area
home is ‘average.’
By Kevin Diakiw
Staff Reporter
Apr 21 2006
A Clayton-area man with a Dobermann pinscher and a love for expensive vehicles has been tagged by Surrey’s new municipal grow op team.
However, Armand Kucukgozen doesn’t have a marijuana grow operation in his home, and he’s furious at being stereotyped.
Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis says his staff are now reviewing the issue.
On Tuesday, Kucukgozen’s home was hit by the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative team, which has attended 271 residences since its inception in March, 2005.
Out of that, 243 turned out to be electrical hazards, many of them likely grow operations.
The remaining 28 were either false leads or homes with secondary suites that had high power consumption.
Under the program, fire officials – acting on police tips – attend homes with extraordinarily high electrical consumption (typical of a grow op) and ask the resident to allow a city inspection of the home.
If no one is home, a request is left at the door to permit an inspection within 48 hours. Failure to comply results in power being shut off to the home.
“The program is in its infancy, and these evaluations are taken seriously,” Garis said Tuesday. “There are instances where there is some room for improvement.”
Garis wouldn’t comment on Kucukgozen’s situation specifically except to say staff are reviewing the processes that led them to the home.
Kucukgozen, a 25-year-old partner with Sam’s Flooring in Langley, said his career affords him some of the finer things in life, and the fact that some people interpret that as involvement in drugs in troubling.
“I got a Dobermann pinscher outside, I drive a $60,000 Dodge Ram, my wife’s got a $30,000 truck, I’ve got a $40,000 boat in the yard,” he said. “You can’t make decent money in this town without people thinking you’re a drug dealer?”
He says his wife and eight-month-old child were traumatized.
“All these cops showed up to the house, they wouldn’t let my wife out of the car.”
He says his Hydro bill doesn’t qualify as evidence for a search.
“They keep going on that it was Hydro,” Kucukgozen said, adding his highest monthly bill for his 3,000-sq.-ft. home in the past several months was $210.
“That’s average... I’m the laughing stock of my frigging town,” Kucukgozen said.
Kucukgozen’s complaint of unfair treatment comes as the provincial legislature considers Bill 25, which would compel electrical companies to provide consumption records to municipalities.
Civil libertarians says the legislation is heavy handed and unnecessary.
B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis also has concerns about the proposed legislation.
In an April 6 letter to Rich Coleman, minister for housing, Loukidelis expressed worries over the frequency of such legislation.
“Such initiatives are multiplying at all levels of government in Canada and are cause for concern,” Loukidelis wrote. “They are in my view, to be avoided wherever possible, including because they are not subject to prior approval by the courts.”
http://www.surreyleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=73&cat=23&id=632723&more=