INUVIK - Inuvik RCMP busted what it calls an upstart marijuana grow operation on Oct. 19 at a undisclosed location on Airport Road.

"It was a hydroponics operation that was dissembled," said Staff Sgt. Cliff McKay. "We're still kind of in the middle of it. We're still trying to identify some of the particulars."

Because the matter is still under investigation, McKay said he couldn't reveal the exact number of plants seized but he said it was a small quantity. Neither could he reveal the exact location of the bust, which he said happened on Airport Road at a building near a home.

He said the detachment is still trying to determine if more than one person was involved in the operation.

McKay said he couldn't tell when or if charges will be laid because investigators haven't been able to tie anyone to the drugs.

"We may not be able to come up with the grounds to support charges against anybody, but they're still working on that," he said. "We can't at this point, (point) out anybody that's hands-on operating and involved with it. We have some suspects, some very strong suspects, but to support that for criminal charges is another thing."

McKay called the operation "amateurish," judging, he said, from what police officers encountered at the scene.

He added that the suspected grow-up seemed as though it was being set up for expansion. Several electronic items including lights were confiscated.

He said drug operations such as these are rare in the community. He wouldn't disclose how the detachment found out about the drug operation.

"That's confidential at this point," he said. "I don't want to burn anybody."