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Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down in Canada
    #5262431 - 02/04/06 12:35 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

This global announcement is being posted in efforts to proliferate some unfortunate and wildly convoluted information; nevertheless information that may be worthwhile to consider for anyone who may have participated with or was actively engaged with either of the websites/seed companies listed in the topic header, such that they may be aware of the potential risk that could come with the disappearance of the aforementioned websites.  Note that there are many conflicting reports, but the message is the same: Be aware and stay safe!

As it was first posted publicly:

Quote:

Sad News on RC...PLEASE READ...

It is with great sadness that I bring you the news that RC and HS, OG and CW have been taken down by the authorities in Canada.....

...I have it from a bonofide source that it happened on monday and RC's computers/servers have most probably been siezed, they spent 2 days going thru his house and removed alot of stuff ...

His wife and some members of his family were also taken into custody and it's possible that she may be released tommorrow on bail....There has not been a peep in the media about this so there could be a reason why it was not advertised by LEO......BE WARNED! not to try and log on to Overgrow or Cannabisworld for now since most certainly the security of those sites has been compromised and if it comes back up without me first hearing from RC then it is NOT being run by him.....think about it!

...This could bring up some real security issues with many Overgrow/Cannabisworld members.........be warned guys and do what you need to do to make it safer for all of you.......duck and cover if needs be....

....Yours Faithfully...

Gypsy Nirvana




Related Links:

Be safe everyone :spliff:
Remember to post responsibly, here and everywhere! :mushroom2:




Archived CannabisCulture statements:

Posted Friday Feb 3, 2006 by Marc Emery and Jodie Giesz-Ramsay:

When the world's largest websites for cannabis growers and enthusiasts disappeared from the web on Monday, January 30, it was thought to be a server problem.

As the week dragged on, tens of thousands of members, seed company sponsors, growers and fans worried there might be more than mere 'server' problems as Richard Calrisian (a pseudonym) had not made any statements in any web based media about any 'technical' problems.

Now it appears Heaven's Stairway Seeds (hempqc.com), Cannabisworld.com, Overgrow.com, Eurohemp.com have been shut down and the owners arrested in Canada; all their web properties seized, including the physical servers that held massive databases on thousands of growers, and tens of thousands of photographs of cannabis plants. Seed companies by the dozens used both Overgrow.com and Cannabisworld.com as a main trading ground. Over 40 seed companies had customer service interactive forums on these sites.

All the information held on those servers is now in the hands of police. It is not known what charges have been laid nor against whom. That police have not boasted about this seizure means the investigation is continuing, before any affected parties can react.

Cannabis Culture began receiving emails on Wednesday saying Richard Calrisian and his wife had been arrested along with four employees, but this could not be corroborated.



Posted Saturday, Feb 4 2006 by Marc Emery:

Cannabis Culture has developed a timeline of events we believe accurately account for the disappearance of Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seeds (hempqc.com), and Eurohemp.

On Monday evening, resident of Montreal Richard Calrisian, the owner of the four websites, was contacted by his web service providers in Vancouver where his servers were situated. They told him that there may be a problem, regarding a police investigation. RC told his provider to shut down the websites immediately.

Within hours, the police (it's unknown what kind of police) apparently entered the server site in Vancouver with a warrant and apprehended the hardware that housed the four web sites.

In the early morning of Tuesday, police in Montreal moved in and arrested RC, his wife, family members and an unknown number of employees.

It is alleged that RC, a pseudonym, is being held at Riviere-des-Prairie (RDP) jail in Montreal, and his wife in is Tanguay jail, across the river from RDP. Cannabis Culture called the prison and found no one there under the name Richard Calrisian.

The bail hearing should be on Monday, but it is unusual that a bail hearing has not yet been held. Typically they take place within 24 hours of arrest, unless an investigation is ongoing and the accused are being held temporarily without bail. This may be because there is a risk that the arrest news might inform other persons who are also under investigation.

Earlier reports of a drug bust in Hearst, Ontario are not related the seizure of Overgrow.com websites.



Posted Tuesday, February 7th by Jodie Giesz-Ramsay:

Did he take the money and run? Or did "RC" go into hiding?

The owner of Heaven's Stairway Seeds, CannabisWorld.com and Overgrow.com has apparently dropped his websites and businesses, and has taken off with everything.

No one knows who "Richard Calrisian" is. No one has come forward with information about the websites. There have been no busts, no arrests linked to the owners. The servers seem to be reachable, but are not hosting the websites anymore.

Was RC scared of being investigated? Did he want to stop paying for an enormous database of information (Overgrow.com)?

Everyone who sells seeds seems to be fleeing North America and going to Amsterdam, Switzerland, Spain, England - the far more progressive countries. They don't want to be picked up by the USA or Canadian governments. Now that the Conservatives are elected in Canada, there's far more risks for people operating marijuana enterprises.

Read the CC Forums thread discussion on the topic here.






Additional Archived Statement from ICMag.com
Posted Thursday, February 9th by Gypsy Nirvana:

RC.....RELEASED!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

....Hey Guys...

...Now...before I start here let me just get something straight....

....I have been contacted by the same entity that informed me innitially of the aweful situation regarding RC, the O.G./C.W. servers and the R.C.M.P.

...Whether this contact is completely bonafide.... varifyable, or not beyond all reasonable doubt....I am not 100% sure.......maybe about 75% sure till I hear R.C.'s voice.....but thats good enough for me right now......

I feel that it is imperative that I communicate any information to you all out there, for it could help ease your worries in these harrowing times....

Phew....just made it back to London from the Dam........opened my PM box and had this message from the contact...here it is...

''GYPSY,

Sorry Man....i was with RC all night...he is ok.

He is in the process for preliminary hearing,he still needs to go over case file with lawyers,could be a couple of months before RCMP disclose all evidence,he'll keep you posted.

if you want to call him **********
CAUTION home number tapped!

Thats it for me ... i'll be laying low for a while! if ever your in ********...you know how to find me....''

...and O.P. got this message from the same entity:

''RC shut down all sites when he found out an investigation was in progress to protect the members.NO LOGS AVAILABLE!...(Waaay Heey!.....Bloody Good News!!)

OP-RC will prepare a statement for you to post,and he may reguire a defense fund as all corprate and personal assets have been siezed!...

Well my role has been fulfilled ...time to go back to whatever i was doing before.again...thanks for the trust...and who knows? maybe one day, are paths may cross again.''


...I heard his voice.....

...Just got off the dog and bone (phone) with RC.....He sounds O.K.....and happy to be free after being locked up for well over a week.....He asked me to convey his best wishes to you all......and I suggested that I start a fund for his legal defence......He said that he first had to hear from his lawyer if it was cool to be a benificiary of such a fund......


.....I'm just waiting for him to say that it's O.K. to even start a fund........First I reckon that he would have to ask his lawyer if he can recieve payment for his services from such a fund........

....I spoke with him for a short time and did not elaborate upon the charges.......he's not allowed to use a computer......and now he needs to just spend time with his family and work out how his is going to fight whatever the charges are against him.....




Archived statements from THC Ministry Forums:

Posted on Saturday, February 11th on behalf of former OG admin, Plural of Mongoose:

RC is working with the Authorities. OG and CW IP's were logged.

About 48 hours ago I broke my 26 month long self-imposed exile from the internet to post the results of my converstations with RC. Nobody else seemed to the the will or ability to track down and talk to him, and my concerns for the industry and the people I love who participate in it out weighed the enjoyment of my recent relative obscurity. I was sure any calls were going to be monitored, but hey - it's not like my name has never been associated with cannabis seeds, eh. So I called RC. Twice.

The first call was to get his story of what happened to him, and the servers for Overgrow and Cannabis World, and to offer support, financial and otherwise. I had been in contact with a few friends and business acquaintances, and had passed the virtual hat around - to the tune of well over US$50,000 pledged to assist RC, with no strings attached. RC said he would have to talk to his lawyers first for instructions on handling such a large donation. OK, fine. RC has all my contact numbers (always had, btw) and I expected a call the next day with instructions from his lawyers.

After my first call to him, I noted that Marc Emery from Cannabis Culture had a front page story saying RC had split the country, etcetera. Fuck. So, after some introspection, I decided to take the plunge - I was returning to my long lost home, the internet. RC had told me he would be releasing a statement, drawn up with the assistance of his lawyers, within 24 hours. Now, I had taken RC at his word as to what had happened, and I thought his clients, suppliers and members of his sites should have at least an idea of what happened, so I called him back, and said so. He agreed I could post what I put in my first post on the internet in 26 months.

Some things RC said to me didn't sit well with me. I did wake the guy up, but still... my instincts were making my hackles rise. As time passed, I kept thinking - who the fuck doesn't leap on a US$50,000 gift? My instincts said I wouldn't hear from his lawyers about it. I was correct.

Now, I have known RC's real name - and much more information about him, from back in the day when I made a deal with ~Shabang~ to buy out his 1/2 of Overgrow. I started doing the phone call thing to newspapers, the Quebec Provincial Police, RCMP public affairs office, blah, blah, blah. No record of an arrest. No record of bail or release. No records for RC, period. I had a couple of phone calls with ~Shabang~ as well, as he is one of the few people in the world I felt comfortable brain-storming with some of the information I was working with. I trust ~S with my life.

I called everyone I knew - and I know a fuckload of folks - to try and pry out some facts. I got a ton of calls, PM's and emails, and the picture they were painting wasn't jiving with some 'facts' that RC gave me. In fact, the fucker lied to me - to you - to the industry.

Just after midnight last night, I got a call from Marc Emery. Some of you may have heard of him. If you want to Marc bash, stay the fuck outta this thread. I've been in this industry for quite some time, and I don't believe in tearing down anyone who has the guts and determination for a cause that he does. If you don't like doing business with him, then don't. I have managed to negotiate this industry for years without hurting and name calling of people who are, in my eyes, on the same side. (Just ask Dr. Chronic - shortly after his site launched on OG - and when Gypsy was, as usual acting like an asshole and treating the Doc like shit on the boards, his site went down - hardware failure. That day was the first time I talked to the Doc - I called him and offered to host his site until his hardware was repaired. He declined, but that was the basis of a solid business relationship with him, one of my competitors. I have since met the Doc, and he is one of those truly rare finds - an honest to goodness decent and nice man. I would like to think I can call Dr. Chronic my friend, and I won't put up with any Doc bashing here either End of rant)

Emery and I chatted for over 1/2 an hour. At the outset, I was clear that I couldn't give him any information, but we could discuss what we both had knowledge of. I can tell you now that Emery had RC's real name for quite some time, and had been checking high and low, much like I had been, and had found no trace. Emery gave me a who's who list of people who know RC - in some cases for decades - and who RC had shunned any form of contact with since this all started. He quite graciously offered me all they had found out, and didn't pressure me for information in return. His concern for anyone affected by the fallout from this is genuine. The industry is in an uproar, and I hadn't seen anyone else with people working the phones trying to unearth the truth. By approximately 12:53 AM (GMT) Mr. Marc Scott Emery had earned my respect. We ended our chat, but now I still had more questions.

Rumours, speculation and innuendo filled the forums everywhere, and my instincts were screaming by now. Several details RC had given me were blatantly false, but not a smoking gun. Not yet.

And then, this morning at 10:30 AM (GMT) my phone rang. It was an old acquaintance of mine - and he had brought me a smoking gun. He had done business with RC, and RC paid him by check. The check was made out to a business that has nothing to do with cannabis or cannabis seeds. It was the only time that business had ever negotiated a payment from anyone in the industry. And he had just been raided, with the warrant looking for cannabis, cannabis seeds, and financial records. Fortunately, the raid was, well - a bust. Nothing was found, cops were red-faced, and my friend was fine. And pissed off. There is only one person who could have pointed the police to his business. Mr. Richard Baghdadlian, known to you as RC.

I don't doubt that RC was raided, and I don't doubt that his home and business were searched. In fact, I have confirmation they were. He was not arrested. He was at home when I called him, and has since shut off all contact with anyone. I called his lawyers (that little deal a few years ago with ~S, me, RC and OG had left me with all kinda interesting contacts) and they informed me they were not able to contact RC.

So, I'm gonna say it - and lemme tell you, this ain't easy, but now it's time to face some hard facts.

Richard Baghdadlian is co-operating with the authorities to save his own ass, at the expense of breeders, clients, and tens of thousands of members on his sites.

Anyone who had any financial transactions with RC in any way is at risk.

Anyone who posted on OG or CW is at risk. Those forums are gone, and will never be back - the security of every member has been comprimised.

I don't believe IP's were not logged on OG and CW. ~Shabang~ and I discussed this, and how ~S had originally set up the null logs, and db records. Since then, however, RC had instituted many 'anti-troll' features on the boards. Lemme 'splain...

Ask any troll here - if they posted from, say Proxy A one day, and then 3 days later from Proxy B, using the same handle, and admin got tired of them. So, they IP ban Proxy B, while the troll is still signed in. That's how RC would like you to believe it was done. However, if they then tried using a different handle, and Proxy A - well, damned if that one wasn't blocked as well. I can guarantee you that RC had gone back to some default settings to log IP's for everyone, all the time. There is no doubt.

RC is a rat.

OG and CW logged IP's.

The servers weren't seized - they didn't need to seize them - RC has given them complete access to the database records.

People are getting busted based on contact with RC.

I have given oldpink the heads-up a couple of hours ago that I was going to write this up and post it here. Kindly don't tear him up - he is working hard with little information, and is doing the best he can.

As many OG and CW refugees are also hanging at www.hg420.com, I've just got off the phone with Doc Chronic as well, so word of this will get out. (That's important, as that snivelling cunt-rag Gypsy likes to delete any quotes from me over at ICMag. Fuck off Gypsy, and stay outta my thread.)

If I have more information to offer later, I'll post it up in this thread.

If you have some information to give me, email is plural_of_encrypted@hushmail.com, or give me a call - from a safe phone, of course, at 07766 871 905 in the UK, 0044 7766 871 905 in Europe, and from N. America use 01144 7766 871 905.

Take care everyone, I hope you're all safe.

Love,

Plural of Mongoose

PS - if yer gonna quote this post over at other sites, kindly quote the entire post, thank you very much. Mongoose

PPS - Fuck you Richard Baghdadlian - FUCK YOU... Fuck you... fuck you...




Archived Article from MuskogeePhoenix.com:

Posted Friday, February 17th by Leif M. Wright:

Potheads show you?re not anonymous online
By Leif M. Wright
Phoenix Staff Writer

GreenThum43215: Hey, are you the Phoenix guy?
LeifMWright: Yes. Who?s this?
GreenThum43215: You interested in an internet story?
LeifMWright: I?m all ears.
GreenThum43215: Have you ever heard of overgrow.com?

That Internet chat began the weirdest column I?ve ever undertaken, one full of international intrigue, secret marijuana gardens, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, a shady character with an Armenian name, a former movie actor turned marijuana seed dealer and tens of thousands of freaked-out potheads who started what I call the Marijuana Bean Field Wars.

Overgrow.com was the world?s largest marijuana cultivation Web site, and possibly the largest single marketplace of illegal ideas in the history of the world. The site taught growers the ins and outs of the plant and how to increase their yields and ostensibly increase the THC content. THC is the chemical believed to cause the ?high? of marijuana.

At its peak before Jan. 31, Overgrow.com had more than 100,000 active members ? a massive amount for all but the largest web sites, and certainly for one that exchanged information that is illegal in most places.

Jan. 31, the site disappeared. Poof. Up in smoke, you might say.
It had warned users a couple of days earlier that it would be undergoing server upgrades, so expect some outages. So no one panicked.

A day later, the site was still gone. Potheads, who are notoriously paranoid already, began to wig out.

What if the site had been busted? Would members be subject to prosecution based on the information they had shared on the site? Had authorities been watching the whole time, building up information so they could attack?

The war begins

GreenThum43215: A lot of people around here are freaking out.

Probably an understatement.

I started searching the Internet for information about Overgrow.com. I found a slew of forums and dozens of sites repeating the same news: Overgrow.com and its parent site, Heaven?s Stairway, had been shut down, their Canadian owner arrested, his house raided and his family jailed.

Heaven?s Stairway was a seed distribution company. Marijuana growers call the seeds ?beans.? Heaven?s Stairway, according to Canadian pot activist Marc Emery, had to be the largest seed merchant in North America, selling cannabis seeds all across Canada and the United States, and probably to other countries, too.

The stories on the Internet didn?t answer some key questions. Were the Web sites shut down by Canadian authorities, or were they, as Emery?s own bust nine months earlier, done in cooperation with the DEA?

Who was the mysterious owner of the sites, and what happened to him? Was he in jail? Was he out? Was he even alive?

What happened to the records of his seed business and the logs on his site that could possibly lead police to those who frequented the site?

Internet forums were atwitter with the details ? or lack of them.

It seems the sites were owned by a Richard Calrisian in Montreal.
But later, it seemed ?Calrisian? had been an alias. His real name was Richard Baghdadlian. And later, it seemed ?Richard? was an alias, too. His real name, they asserted, was Hratch Baghdadlian.

No one seemed to be able to find any official records of his arrest, or even of an investigation.

That, the growers seemed unified in believing, was even more ominous. If the cops had busted Baghdadlian but hadn?t arrested him, it could be that they were still investigating ? or worse, Baghdadlian was cooperating with them, singing like a canary, selling out seed customers, seed merchants and growers all over the continent.

I called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters in Ottawa.

?We don?t confirm or deny if there is an ongoing investigation,? said Sgt. Nathalie Dechenes, spokesman for the RCMP. ?So we wouldn?t tell you either way. I don?t know if we even have authority to shut down Web sites.?

So I called Emery, who was busted nine months ago and is facing extradition to the United States on charges of selling marijuana seeds in the U.S.

?I?m facing 31 years in a maximum security federal prison,? Emery said. ?It seems to me if Baghdadlian was facing the same thing, he might have started cooperating if they offered to drop the investigation in the U.S. and keep him in Canada.?

Emery had run a seed company in competition with Heaven?s Stairway. When he was busted, his computers were seized (?Nothing was on them,? he said), and his clients in the United States started receiving blue sheets of paper asking them to confirm orders they had placed with his company.

?It was essentially an effort to try to get them to incriminate themselves,? he said. ?But most were smart enough to hit my Web site and find out it was the DEA and not us sending those notices out.?

Meanwhile, several cannabis-related sites were breaking out into full civil war over the Overgrow debacle.

On one side was a fomer movie actor who had had a bit part in a Jean-Claude VanDamme flick and now was calling himself ?Gypsy Nirvana.? He claimed to have spoken with ?RC,? which was a pseudonym for Baghdadlian (growers seem to be big on initials and acronyms).

RC, Nirvana assured everyone, had been arrested, but he was out on bail and he had shut down the servers when he learned of the impending raid ? everyone?s information was safe.

Dissenters began to surface, however, saying Nirvana had a profit motive in mind; he wanted Heaven?s Stairway?s seed business.

On the other side was someone calling himself ?Plural of Mongoose,? who apparently commanded great respect in the growing community. He also claimed to have spoken with RC, who had told him several lies, some of which, combined with a friend being busted, led him to believe RC was cooperating with the authorities.

Caught in the middle was Emery, whose own case had generated a lot of publicity, and who is loved by about half the growing community and violently hated by the other half. Emery?s initial statement on the matter had been that Baghdadlian, tired of the seed business, had decided it was time to bail, so he shut up shop and took off to greener pastures, no pun intended.

The battle raged on in Internet boards with Nirvana accusing Emery of being a jerk for revealing Baghdadlian?s name and phone number on his own site.

Others said Baghdadlian was the jerk for leaving his business partners high and dry, wondering if they could be busted at any time based on information from his servers.

No bust, no investigation, mom says

I called a number given on one site for Baghdadlian. A woman answered and gave her name as ?Mrs. Baghdadlian.?

She confirmed that Hratch is her son and that he was the proprietor of Heaven?s Stairway and Overgrow.com.

?Nothing has happened, there is nothing right now,? she said in an Armenian accent. ?He has not been arrested. There is no investigation.?

I asked her if Baghdadlian had shut the servers down himself. She started stuttering.

?Um,? she said. ?I don?t think I can say anything more than this.?

I asked if she knew where I could reach him to talk to him. She said she did not.

?Wow,? Emery said when I told him about the conversation. ?That sure lends credence to the idea that he took the money and ran.?

It?s possible that Baghdadlian had noticed an increased amount of government servers hitting his sites, saw the writing on the wall and bailed. Emery agreed it was possible.

?Before I was raided, about six weeks before, there was a huge Department of Justice focus on our Web site,? he said. ?Our server logs revealed their IP addresses and we were able to do a whois on them and find out where the hits were coming from.?

Taking the money and running would explain Baghdadlian?s silence ? and the silence of law enforcement, which had thrown a big media party when they busted Emery, patting themselves very publicly on the back for such a large takedown.

What does it mean to you?

The bottom line is those who were doing business with Baghdadlian and Emery were breaking the law if they were doing it in the United States ? they took a tremendous risk to break the law, and they are likely wise to be worried.

Doing that business over the Internet may have given people a false sense of security, since the Internet allows people to feel ?anonymous.?

In the marijuana growing community, the disappearance of Overgrow has made them rudely aware that Internet anonymity is an illusion.

For law enforcement, if there was no bust, they may still benefit from Baghdadlian?s disappearance. Growers all over the Internet were proclaiming that they were done ? they were shutting their operations down for fear ?LEO? would come get them based on information obtained from Baghdadlian?s debacle.

The net gain for law enforcement is a new paranoia in the cannabis-growing world ? and fewer people growing, which means shorter supply and less headache for ?LEO.?

The average, law-abiding citizen can take a good message away from the mess, too, though. The message:

?You?re never anonymous,? Emery said. ?It?s impossible. Governments are investing huge amounts of money to monitor what?s going on on the Internet. If they?re interested in knowing something, they?ll get it.?

Protecting yourself over the Internet ? even in legitimate business ? should take top priority. You may never have thought about breaking a law yourself, but your information is scattered all over the Internet, and those with less scruples than you can easily gain access to it and use it to defraud you.

Be careful. The Internet is still a rough new frontier, much like Oklahoma was in the Land Run years. You may not be facing droughts and maurading bandits, but you face less-than-honest people who will take your information and use it to hurt you.

?Never do business with anyone who won?t give you a real name,? Emery said.

More importantly, never do online business with a company you haven?t thoroughly seen to be trustworthy. Even big companies suffer from ?phishing,? where people will pretend to be the big companies and request personal information from you, which is later used to defraud you.

For those doing illegal business over the Internet, my advice is this: Just don?t.

You can reach Leif M. Wright at 684-2906 or [Email]lmwright@muskogeephoenix.com.[/Email] If you?re ?LEO,? you already know that.



RCMP Take Down Seed Company tied to Overgrow.com
by RCMP Website (28 Feb, 2006)

The RCMP dismantles an international drug distribution network on the internet Royal Canadian Mounted Police crestThe members of the Marihuana Grow Operations Enforcement Team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police concluded their first major operation when they uncovered a Montreal based criminal organization involved in the trafficking, importation and exportation of cannabis seeds, as well as in conspiring for the purpose of cannabis cultivation via the Internet.

This operation was launched in November 2004 under the name "Courriel" and culminated with the seizure of 200,000 cannabis seeds and the arrest of seven persons.

Project "Courriel" revealed that Richard Hratch BAGHDADLIAN, 38, from Marsan Street in Montreal, and six other persons operated the Heaven's Stairway company. This company was on the web claiming to be the North American supplier for indoor and outdoor cannabis production.

The cybercompany Heaven's Stairway used the Internet sites hempqc.com, cannabisworld.com, overgrow.com, eurohemp.com, cannabisseeds.com, and cannabisbay.com. These sites were used to order cannabis seeds online and obtain information on cannabis cultivation.

These Internet sites also suggested ways to outsmart the police. Richard Hratch BAGHDADLIAN was the instigator, head and main beneficiary of the illicit company Heaven's Straiway. The other six accused acted as couriers and performed other duties for the company.

They are Geoffrey CHAN, 33, Maria Cristina CIVITILLO, 32, Natalie BAGHDADLIAN, 40, Manuel Bento FERNANDES, 45, Christopher ALMOND, 38, and Teresa RODRIGUES, 39. They all live in Montreal except Christopher ALMOND who lives in Ville Saint-Laurent.

The organization processed approximately 30 orders of cannabis seeds a day averaging $100 each. The seeds were sent to clients by regular mail. The seven people are facing 49 charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. The offences were committed in Quebec, Canada, North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world between March 12, 1998 and January 31, 2006. Nine searches were carried out during the week of January 30, 2006 in order to gather evidence that criminal activities had been committed. The searches were conducted in Montreal and Laval, as well as in the residences of three of the accused, a business, three post office boxes, a vehicle and a safe-deposit box.

These searches led to the seizure of 200,000 cannabis seeds, more than $183,362 in US currencies and $14,000 in Canadian currencies, both in cash and postal money orders, three one-kilogram gold bricks, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a Mazda RX8 and many purchase orders.

Since the searches were conducted, 272 orders have been intercepted by the police. The amount of seeds seized during the searches could have made it possible to operate approximately 500 cannabis greenhouses of 400 plants each, which represent 42 million joints sold on the street.

The seven accused are liable to 10 years' imprisonment. Since the possession of cannabis seeds is illegal under Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, clients of the network could also receive a visit from the police.

It should be noted that Project "Courriel", a first in Canada, is the fruit of the work of the new Marihuana Grow Operations Enforcement Team.

This new drug enforcement team is one of the seven teams established by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police across Canada in 2004 to combat the scourge of marihuana. The main objectives of these teams are to interdict drugs before they arrive in our communities and to target and destroy the infrastructure and the networks used by criminal organizations involved in marihuana production. These organizations constitute a threat to public safety and well-being.

For information:
Communications Office
(514) 939-8308




Posted Friday, March 3rd by DRCNet:


Canada Cannabis Seed Crackdown?

The rumors began circulating on Canadian marijuana-oriented web sites a month ago when people reported that the web sites related to what was arguably Canada's largest seed seller -- nobody really knows -- Montreal-based Heaven's Stairway suddenly went down. (The sites include hempqc.com, cannabisworld.com, overgrow.com, eurohemp.com, cannabisseeds.com, and cannabisbay.com.) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) made it official Tuesday when they announced that the company had indeed been busted in late January and that the owner, Richard Bagdadlian, his wife, and five employees faced serious charges and possible 10-year prison sentences. Other seed sellers and even buyers could face similar attention, the Mounties warned.

"This looks like an RCMP show bust," said Ottawa-based activist Tim Meehan, a long-time cannabis activist currently concentrating on municipal drug policy with the National Capital Reformers. "I think this was meant to put a chill in the seed business and give Prime Minister Harper's American friends the idea that we are doing something about the marijuana seed 'problem,'" he told DRCNet.

In the past fifteen years, Canada's cannabis culture and its commercial infrastructure -- grow ops, grow shops, fertilizer companies, seed companies -- have expanded largely unimpeded. According to knowledgeable observers, there are dozens of commercial seed producers operating in Canada and an equal number of stores and web sites offering the seeds for sale. While "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery and his Emery Seed Company, then Canada's largest, were shut down by the Mounties last year, that raid was at the behest of the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the charges Emery faces are in the US.

Prior to the Heaven's Stairway bust, only three people had been convicted of seed offenses in Canada, and two of them were Emery. None of them got more than a slap on the wrist in the form of fines. Now, Canadian authorities have given notice that the cannabis seed business is fair game, and the Canadian cannabis industry is watching closely.

The RCMP announced it had seized 200,000 marijuana seeds, $200,000 US in cash, and gold, motorcycles, and cars in a series of raids in the Montreal area. The Mounties described Heaven's Stairway as "a Montreal based criminal organization involved in the trafficking, importation and exportation of cannabis seeds, as well as in conspiring for the purpose of cannabis cultivation via the Internet."

The Mounties were sending a clear signal to the cannabis seed industry. "It's an illegal business," said Staff Sgt. Andre Potvin of the RCMP's Montreal drug section. "There has been a general misconception for years even among law enforcement that cannabis seeds are not illegal to possess, and that was clarified with this operation. This has been going on for years and years," he told DRCNet, "and we realized that with the boom in the amount of growing operations that we had better start enforcing the law."

They are doing just that with a vengeance. The Heaven's Stairway arrestees face 49 charges and up to a decade behind bars under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and Criminal Code of Canada for processing what the RCMP said was 30 cannabis seed orders a day averaging $100 each. And since the possession of cannabis seeds is illegal under Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, clients of the network could also receive a visit from the police, the Mounties said.

People who did business with Heaven's Stairway should be worried, Potvin warned. "We seized a huge amount of data in their computers and we will be tracing it," he said. "Here in Canada, people who bought seeds should worry. If we can trace customers and link them to the actual growing of marijuana plants, we will be looking at charges. We also received information from the DEA in regard to complaints they had from North Dakota and Wisconsin that kids were ordering seeds from Canada. We have transmitted all the information to all the other partners we have in the world."

"This is probably not a good thing for the industry," Emery told DRCNet. "If you're in the business, make sure you have a good lawyer on retainer, and be discreet! The police have the servers for Heaven's Stairway and all those other sites, and several hundred people are at risk at a minimum. Several thousand are feeling affected and their gardens have probably come down. If you had anything to do with them, you should take appropriate action," he said. "This will create a reduction in wealth and scarcity in our communities."

Although the Bagdadlian bust is creating jitters, not everybody is scurrying for cover.

It's business at usual in the Up In Smoke Caf? about 50 miles southwest of Toronto in Hamilton, Ontario. Seed sales continue, as do sales of cannabis foods, but customers must bring their own smoke. "We openly defy the law; our existence is an act of civil disobedience," said caf? owner Chris Godwin. "I don't really worry too much about it," he told DRCNet. "Most rational police forces don't prioritize marijuana offenses, and most cannabis seed outlets are small shops that quietly do their business and pay taxes."

Up In Smoke isn't all that quiet. "I put cannabis seeds on my advertising," Goodwin said, "and we've had cannabis giveaways." He's not alone in Hamilton, which boasts seven heads shops and at least one other seed purveyor. "We had a cannabis crawl where we went to six different cafes, some where they're openly selling pot, others that let you smoke openly. Canada is not utopia, but it's not so bad."

"I still think stores that sell seeds are not really at much of a risk," said Emery. "I think it's the import-export aspect that draws attention. I wouldn't send any seeds to the US, and I wouldn't sell seeds to someone who says he is from the US. But in Canada, the courts have never sent anyone to jail for seeds before."

But selling to the US and selling seeds in large volumes -- both of which Heaven's Stairway did -- can be a problem, Goodwin said. "Doing that is risky business, and things like this can happen. While I wish I could supply that demand south of the border, I don't sell to the United States."

One group that should not worry, said Meehan, was people providing seeds for medical marijuana patients. "Dealers supplying bona fide patients should have no problems with this increased enforcement, unless the police and the Conservative government want to get the 90% of the Canadian population that supports medical marijuana up in arms."

Providing medicine to patients is one thing; running a commercial seed operation for personal profit without supporting the community that supports you is another. Emery was somewhat critical of Bagdadlian and his crew on a couple of counts. "When we were busted, we were able to assure people we didn't lose any data and no one was at risk because we got the word out right away," he said. "In this case, they were busted a month ago and the police ordered them to keep quiet, and the mail kept coming. It is unfortunate that these folks are putting their own preservation above that of the community they served."

Emery also pointed out that Bagdadlian didn't contribute to the marijuana legalization movement, as he has. "They didn't have any political content," he said. "They did nothing to end prohibition; they were profiteers in an illegal industry, nothing more. When the police raided our bank accounts, there was no money, no drugs, no cash, no kilogram bars of gold, no wealth. We had $12 in one account, but they didn't bother to seize that."

On the other hand, said Meehan, Bagdadlian and his web sites were valuable for patients. "Those seeds were used by patients worldwide, and I know offhand at least a dozen legal Canadian medical marijuana patients who used the growing tips they provided," he said.

Movement politics aside, the Bagdadlian bust is an ominous signal early in the Harper administration. Although marijuana decriminalization or legalization is favored by a majority of Canadians, those are not the people represented by the minority Harper government. While the new Canadian government may be playing to the US, its views on drug policy also reflect an antipathy toward cannabis and a fear of drug-related criminality in sectors of the Canadian polity that now have a voice in Ottawa.

The Conservative victory in January's elections may signal a crackdown of sorts, Emery suggested. "I think the police are going to have a lot more money and political license, and they are emboldened to do more and more, from arresting drug users in Vancouver to going after the largest seed distribution organizations."

If and when more information comes to light, I will include it here. 
Though quite convoluted, I believe enough time has passed such
that any true overgrower would have taken notice and done whatever
necessary in order to assure their safety.

And so, unstickified this thread goes :spliff:


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··∙   long live the shroomery  ∙··
...π╥ ╥π...

Edited by geokills (03/03/06 12:32 PM)

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OfflineMicrocosmatrix
Spiral staircasetechnician
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Registered: 10/20/05
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262440 - 02/04/06 12:40 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Thanks Geo! :thumbup:


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:orly:


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InvisibleShmoppy McGillicuddy
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262443 - 02/04/06 12:40 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Damnit, time for the aluminum hats again.  :shiftyeyes:


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OfflineTurn
Hey Its Free!

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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262446 - 02/04/06 12:41 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Wow, whats the charges?

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OfflineMicrocosmatrix
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Registered: 10/20/05
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: Shmoppy McGillicuddy]
    #5262451 - 02/04/06 12:43 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Get the thick kind


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:orly:


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Anonymous

Post deleted by Anno [Re: Microcosmatrix]
    #5262480 - 02/04/06 12:49 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)


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OfflinegeokillsA
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down in Canada [Re: Turn]
    #5262502 - 02/04/06 12:57 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

> Wow, whats the charges?

As far as I know, no charges have been publicly stated, nor has news of the bust (which apparently took place last Monday!) been circulated save for the confirmation by Gypsy last night and the subsequent article by CannibisCulture. It should be of some comfort to note that OG and CW reportedly did not log IP addresses on any user accounts. Of most particular concern imo, is if you had an outstanding order with Heaven's Stairway Seed Co / EuroHemp; in which case you should clean up shop right away, especially if you are located in Canada. If nothing else, at least this will serve as a reminder that we need to be diligent in our safety while oppressive laws restrict our freedom of choice and our persuit of happiness. It is only unfortunate that good souls must fall down for bringing us such harmless information.


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--------------------
··∙   long live the shroomery  ∙··
...π╥ ╥π...

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InvisibleInsatiableThirst
for knowledge.
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: Shmoppy McGillicuddy]
    #5262503 - 02/04/06 12:57 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

Shmoppy McGillicuddy said:
Damnit, time for the aluminum hats again.  :shiftyeyes:




I never take mine off.


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Sometimes we let the preoccupations of this cruel world get the best of us and we lose track of the things that really matter.

If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

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Invisiblegettinjiggywithit
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Police [Re: geokills]
    #5262505 - 02/04/06 12:57 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

So whats the shroomeries plan for evading this action being brought?

Are you guys brainstorming? What can they do if you write a program that will change every drug word over to something benign and we all start speaking in secret code- hahahahaha beat them at their own secret society games.

Can the techy wiz kids here create an impenetrable shield to keep an outside force from shutting it down?

Where there is a will there is a way.

:peace: :heart:


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Ahuwale ka nane huna.

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OfflineBamaBoomer
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: InsatiableThirst]
    #5262507 - 02/04/06 12:59 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

hat = PF tek


three piece alum. suit = bulk w/poo


they'll never get me!!!!!!!!!

Incredibly sad news though...Kinda glad I didn't frequent Overgrow myself. Hope this isn't a new trend.........

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OfflineLicense_to_Chill
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: BamaBoomer]
    #5262710 - 02/04/06 01:51 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Damn. :frown:

I had been a member of overgrow for a long time now.  Sad, sad time....


--------------------
"I sat on the bus next to God once,
he told me about the true meaning of life...
then he gave me a pretzel..."

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Offlineph30n1x
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: License_to_Chill]
    #5262732 - 02/04/06 02:02 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

What's keeping us up and running?

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Offlinespooky
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: License_to_Chill]
    #5262738 - 02/04/06 02:05 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

hopefully these busts arent going to be a trend like all those RC web busts. i can see it happening though. good thing i jumped off OG a looooong time ago though. sad to see what the world is coming to with all these ridiculous actions by governments to try and stop "problems."

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OfflineLicense_to_Chill
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: spooky]
    #5262764 - 02/04/06 02:14 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

I'm going to start backing up Teks and other things right now.

Can never be too safe...lets just hope it doesn't happen.


--------------------
"I sat on the bus next to God once,
he told me about the true meaning of life...
then he gave me a pretzel..."

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OfflineOatman2000
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: spooky]
    #5262768 - 02/04/06 02:15 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

you say they didn't log ip's

but what about backups like PM's here at the Shroomery... do those get saved?

Example, let's say i pm someone to send me a print... i don't want my safehouse to get busted. There are people actually living there...


--------------------
Spawning to COIR
:thumbup:  My Chocolate Recipe
WBS QUART SPAWN JAR PREPERATION
----------------------------

4-PO-DMT; 4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethltryptamine

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OfflineOatman2000
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: Oatman2000]
    #5262773 - 02/04/06 02:17 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

i got a book of tek's that i ahve made... and put under lock and key.
:smart:


--------------------
Spawning to COIR
:thumbup:  My Chocolate Recipe
WBS QUART SPAWN JAR PREPERATION
----------------------------

4-PO-DMT; 4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethltryptamine

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OfflinegeokillsA
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down in Canada [Re: ph30n1x]
    #5262781 - 02/04/06 02:19 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

> What's keeping us up and running?

We are an information database which does not house or distribute any illegal substances, thereby affording us protection under the 1st amendment regarding freedom of speech & press. Due to the nature of an online BBS, we are largely protected from prosecution due to information which third-parties (ie. end-users) may post to the website as long as we are diligent in responding to any potential issues once they are brought to our attention. We readily enforce a minimum age requirement in order to appease obscenity laws and will actively respond to any issues that may be brought to our attention regarding other potential legal violations. My suspicions would lead me to believe that the authorities must have found some legal issues with direct respect to the proprietors of the other websites. Aside from a trip every blue moon and a small stash of personal toking goods, all of the directors here are pretty damn clean. I should also note that we have been taking regular off-site backups of the Shroomery for years now, so in the event of a seizure the site would only be down temporarily until new hardware (and if necessary new directors) can be implemented. Let us hope it won't come to that.


--------------------

--------------------
··∙   long live the shroomery  ∙··
...π╥ ╥π...

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OfflineNewAgeDiciple
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262791 - 02/04/06 02:22 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

I'm glad someone is thinking about these things.::thumbs up::


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Smile, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle -philo of Alexandria

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OfflineLicense_to_Chill
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262792 - 02/04/06 02:22 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

Well, I must say...you guys know what you're doing.  :cheers:


--------------------
"I sat on the bus next to God once,
he told me about the true meaning of life...
then he gave me a pretzel..."

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Invisiblemr_peanut
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Registered: 01/26/06
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Re: Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Co, & Eurohemp.com Shut Down by CA Polic [Re: geokills]
    #5262800 - 02/04/06 02:24 PM (18 years, 1 month ago)

how was overgrow any different than what you just described?

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