Police say while investigating a domestic incident between people who were not residents of the home, they made a discovery inside.

On Thursday evening at 5:40 p.m., officers with the Winnipeg Police Service were called to the Lakeside Meadows neighbourhood. They were told there was a domestic incident. When arriving, the police spoke with the man and women at the home, learning there was nothing criminal in the dispute.

The couple, not residents of the home they were in, was not charged, but while there, officers discovered the house was the site of a large marijuana grow operation.

Calling in the Clan Lab Unit, officers got a warrant and found:

  • approximately 80 plants in various stages of growth worth $98,000
  • packaged marihuana worth $3,000
  • various equipment

"The Winnipeg Police Service continues to encounter operations designed to produce and distribute illegal cannabis outside the safe and controlled oversight of Health Canada," the WPS says in a statement. "This cannabis is not subject to any production controls and could be contaminated with hazardous additives."

The homeowner, a 35-year-old man, is facing three charges under the Cannabis Act. He is released and has an Appearance Notice.

"The public is reminded, for safety, to shop through retail outlets authorized by Health Canada."