Overgrow.com Busted!

diddler

Overgrow.com, Cannabisworld.com, Heaven's Stairway Seed Company and Eurohemp.com Owners Apprehended.

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 heaing 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.

http://www.hightimes.com/ht/news/content.php?bid=424&aid=5

Rb

what a pity?

danniemcq

so wait what did he do wrong???

psilocybe

He was apparently running seed companys, which is illegal in Canada and the US, these were heavily advertised on OG and this is why it was busted.

danniemcq

i'm really gettin pissed off at goverments in the "free world"

phantom_lord

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.

I'm guessing that means all the users information has been taken?

diddler

I'm guessing that means all the users information has been taken?

Most likely.

He was apparently running seed companys,which is illegal in Canada

I did not know that. (The illegal bit.) Apparently they should be non-viable according to erowid. I bet he made a lot of money so he can afford a good lawyer

psilocybe

Yeah my understanding is that even though seeds are illegal in Canada it was overlooked for years, but because of pressure from the DEA and more recently a chage in government it is now being cracked down on. Read up on Marc Emery, he could be extradited to the US and serve some ridiculous jail time (80+ years?) in prison for selling seeds in Canada.

psilocybe

http://www.planetganja.com/highsociety/showthread.php?t=8459

have just talked to RC - Servers are OK, RC is not...

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I have just talked on the phone with RC. I know RC, so lets not have any 'was it really him' type responses.

RC shut down the services on the servers - at this point in time the servers have NOT been seized. It appears that OG and CW info is safe and intact - woo hoo!

RC was arrested, and charged concerning the import/export of cannabis seeds - no other charges at this time.

RC has been home for a bit, but is prohibited from using the internet.

RC approved me posting this.

Finally, RC will be issuing a statement through a third party as soon as he has the chance, letting the community know what the situation is.

Could everyone now stop all the hand-wringing, and pull together.


Our thoughts are with you RC - we all wish you the best of luck, and want you to know the community will be here for you.

Mongoose

Quote:
"...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......"

This was posted by Gypsy who is now conducting an auction to help RC as all his assets are frozen.



http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21351

RC has been released

I've heard from our contact that RC has been released
I should have a statement for you soon but I can confirm for now that the servers
were turned off by RC so theres no IP log's
recent report's on Cannabis Culture that RC had fled are totally wrong

for now thats all I have

psilocybe

From another forum:

Posted from Mongoose @ >>>>>>>>>

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

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Quote:
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. ****. 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 **** 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 ****load 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 ****er 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 **** 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 **** 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 ****-rag Gypsy likes to delete any quotes from me over at ICMag. **** 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 - **** you Richard Baghdadlian - **** YOU... **** you... **** you...