TORONTO, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Canadian court has ruled that it's legal for police helicopters to use infrared cameras to find marijuana grow houses, the Toronto Sun said Saturday.
A decision by The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a lower court ruling that the practice was an invasion of privacy.
Regional police chief Armand La Barge said Friday he was delighted that the flights can resume after a five-year absence.
"This is a very handy tool and we will be using it to its fullest ability," La Barge said.
Locations of growing houses will be passed on to Toronto's drug and vice bureau for further investigation.
La Barge assured that the infrared system in the helicopters poses no threat to citizens' privacy.
"It cannot take people taking baths or people at a kitchen table having coffee," he said, "Unless they are growing marijuana and losing exorbitant amounts of heat, they have nothing to fear."
Police say they have broken up or identified more than 1,000 grow houses in the Toronto area and believe there are thousands of others that haven't been found yet. Infrared cameras are able to detect masses of heat on rooftops emitted by the growing operations.
