Pubdate: Thu, 25 Sep 2003 Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB) Copyright: 2003 The Calgary Sun Contact: http://www.fyicalgary.com/calsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67 Author: Kevin Martin, Calgary Sun WOMEN DENY 'CROP SITTING' DOPE Two suspected drug cultivators were oblivious to the nearly $200,000 crop growing under their floor, a Calgary court heard yesterday. Dung Kim Le testified she and her mother had no idea the man who was renting the basement half of their northeast home was harvesting marijuana plants. But the Crown suggested Le and Thi Phu Dinh were "crop sitters" who were well aware of the 265 plants growing beneath their feet. Le, 39, and Dinh, 63, each faces charges of cultivation, possession for the purpose of trafficking and electricity theft. The stash had an estimated value of up to $198,000 if sold by the pound. Le testified she was planning on leaving her husband in the spring of 2001 when she ran into Ly Truong, a man she had never met before, looking for accommodations. She said they exchanged numbers and sometime later Truong called her about renting a home at 108 Harvest Creek Cl. N.E. Le then rented the home on July 15 and Truong moved into the basement, she told defence lawyer Noel O'Brien. After police raided the residence on Sept. 11, Truong's cell phone was disconnected, she said. "I know nothing about them," the Vietnamese native said through an interpreter, about the plants. "Did you ever go into the basement?" asked O'Brien. "No," his client said. But prosecutor Louise Proulx said Le and her mother would have to have been aware of all the cultivation equipment brought in by Truong and the changes he made to the home. A verdict is expected today. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake