Pubdate: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=6860271c-e6dd-4c12-9e7c-b08c033df9ee Copyright: 2006 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Ian Mulgrew Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) IT TAKES A LOT OF POT TO GET A JAIL SENTENCE Mother Of Four Gets One-Year Sentence For Operating Multi-Million-Dollar Weed Farm Marijuana sentencing is a curious issue in this province and across Canada. It's rare for even big growers and traffickers to go to jail. So my interest was recently piqued when I saw a woman headed for the Big House for a year. It turned out she was involved in a mammoth operation, allegedly partly owned by her husband, capable of turning over multi-million-dollar amounts of pot annually. Chin Thi Le is a 40-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who arrived in Canada in 1985. She became a citizen in 1989 and has six children ranging in age from six to 21 years old. When her case was heard, Provincial Court Judge Brent Hoy, sitting in Chilliwack, said it was one of the biggest growing operations he had ever seen, one of the three largest a police expert had dismantled. It was set up near a rural community close to Chilliwack called Columbia Valley, on a secluded 83-acre farm. Police raided it in January 2003 and found numerous barns and other outbuildings throughout the property stuffed with pot plants -- more than 3,300 in various stages of development. There was evidence of a planned expansion -- 70 new ballasts, basically switches to control high-intensity lights and electrical components, 20 of which already had been installed. There was also spent fertilizer and other materials everywhere. At trial, an expert witness suggested the operation would generate in excess of $4 million worth of cannabis a year, although the judge was skeptical and considered that a high ball-park estimate. Le was caught with another guerrilla gardener and found guilty of producing marijuana and possession for the purposes of trafficking. She has only ever had casual employment and aside from child-care, housekeeping occupied most of her time. Still, she is also involved in Vietnamese language studies for the children and church activities. She is a part of the community. Her husband is currently building a boat and hopes to have it finished for the spring fishing season, although the judge described him as "a principal" in the growing operation who escaped because his rights were trampled. Le also had a significant record and had been caught growing before. She was convicted in 1991 of theft under $400; in 1995 she was convicted of the unlawful manufacture of tobacco; in 2000 she got a three-month conditional sentence and nine months probation for producing pot. Only 13 1/2 months elapsed until she was arrested again on the most recent charges. Since her release from five weeks in custody after her arrest almost three years ago, she has been reporting to her bail supervisor once per week. Hoy said she has been compliant throughout the terms of her release and she poses little danger to the public. Still, Hoy said he couldn't give her a conditional sentence. "There are however hints that her association with this offence is more than transitory," he ruled. "She is the spouse to the co-defendant . . . against whom charges were earlier dismissed as a result of a s. 8 Charter breach." More than that, he saw before him a woman who was no naif. He was concerned with her record. "Her repetitive criminal conduct for the same type of offence within such a short period of time demonstrates a complete disregard for her responsibilities to society . . . Hers is not a benign activity . . . There must as well be a clear warning to others who undertake such a venture that such conduct will not be tolerated." He sentenced her to a year in jail on top of the time she had already served in custody. That means she'll be out in a few months. This is what they call a "mom-and-pop" operation -- $4-million maybe a year.