The police in Abbotsford say they have responded to eight home invasions at licensed medical marijuana grow operations in the city over the past five months.

The police department did not specify any specific locations where the incidents occurred, but said in a press release on Thursday that they happened in both "urban and rural areas of the city," usually between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. They stated in their release that "suspects arrive and leave in two vehicles driving side by side." They added that some car thefts have been confirmed and that five to ten suspects appear at the sites wearing dark clothing and masks in each of these incidents.

The Canada Border Services Agency confiscates nearly 900 kilograms of hashish which it says was illegally exported from Delta, British Columbia.

The police said armed suspects stop their cars on the street near the targeted home and enter each site on foot where they take personal belongings, money, and marijuana plants. According to the police, in each incident, residents of the village are psychologically traumatized, but they have not been physically harmed.

Also, "the Major Crimes Unit has taken over these investigations and is working hard to determine if these incidents and others occurring in the mainland are connected to each other, and the department urges people to be cautious and report any suspicious activity, especially in rural areas near licensed farms.