Ten people have been charged with one count each of harvesting cannabis without authorization following a raid at a greenhouse in St. Catharines, Ont. that revealed 14,536 cannabis plants estimated to be worth $14.5 million.

Members of the Ontario Provincial Police’s Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team and the Niagara Regional Police Service jointly carried out the raid.

The search warrant was executed at a grow operation that was licensed by Health Canada, but where it was believed breaches of the Cannabis Act were taking place, notes an OPP statement.

The police reported on Friday that they made the massive finding after searching a greenhouse in St. Catharines. Beyond the 14,536 plants seized, officers discovered 2,212 pounds (1,003 kilograms) of processed cannabis valued at about $2.2 million.

The 10 accused are Meng Zhang, 47, Jing Zhang, 40, Anhtuan Nguyen, 20, Thi Hua Pham, 21, Minhdat Ho, 20, Jumbao Wang, 53, Son Bao Ngo, 19, Yujie Yang, 27, Zhibin Li, 38, Shunping Zhang, 52. All are from the Toronto area, with one person being from London.

They have since been released and will appear in court at a later date.

A federal licence is required to cultivate, process and sell cannabis for medical or non-medical purposes, notes information from the Government of Canada.

The number of people registered with Health Canada for personal and designated cannabis cultivation for their own medical purposes increased one per cent to 43,211 in September 2020 compared to the previous month.

But both Health Canada and police forces have sounded the alarm about the use of medical licences to grow cannabis for illegal purposes.

Commenting on a raid involving 9,000 plants earlier this year, the OPP emphasized that members of the Intelligence Unit are focused on identifying sophisticated, large-scale criminal enterprises that are “exploiting the regulations set by Health Canada by diverting cannabis authorized to be grown for a personal medical purpose to the illegal market.”

The OPP strategy, working in conjunction with other police services throughout the province is to “dismantle organized crime groups, eliminate the illegal cannabis supply, remove illegal cannabis enterprises such as store fronts and online, and target the proceeds of crime and assets.”