Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Kim Bolan, Staff Writer POLICE UNDERCOVER OPERATION RESULTS IN POT CHARGES, HOUSE SEIZURES Sophisticated Marijuana 'Transfer Houses' On Vancouver's East Side Were Used By Organized Crime And Operated Like 'Grain Elevators' A lengthy Vancouver police undercover operation has led to a series of charges and the seizure of two marijuana "transfer houses" used by organized crime. VPD Insp. Brad Desmarais said the houses on Renfrew and Knight streets were operated just like "grain elevators," where a variety of underworld pot producers took their dope to have it distributed to buyers in other provinces and the U.S. Over the course of the investigation -- dubbed Project Trapdoor -- police surveillance saw 70 different cars arrive at just one of the houses. Many of the vehicles were associated with gangsters and others known to police. Desmarais said by targeting the "transfer houses" and not just traditional marijuana-growing operations, police are disrupting the crime groups higher up the food chain. "It is also important to understand that the commercial marijuana producer is not the sole participant in this industry. There are persons who run staging areas, sometimes referred to as transfer houses, and there are transportation managers and, finally, there are distributors. All of these folks take a piece of this very lucrative pie," Desmarais told a news conference. Husband and wife Van Ngan Ngan Nguyen, 45, and Thi Thuy Nguyen, 41, were each charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, as were Ping Ting Chen, 25, and Zhi Hua Zhao, 34. Zhao was also charged with trafficking. Also seized for civil forfeiture proceedings were the houses in the 3200-block of Renfrew and 4800-block of Knight and two vehicles. Police also netted $79,000 Cdn and $40,000 US, much of which was stacked in piles on a table at the news conference. Sgt. Neil Munro said Project Trapdoor started last August and spanned several months. He said the B.C. marijuana trade has increased in sophistication over the years. "Transfer houses play an integral part of the business. You can liken a transfer house to a grain elevator. Growers bring their product there to be graded," Munro said. "They receive payment for it and arrangements are made to transport the product to the local, national and international markets." The criminal gangs that use the houses exercise extreme caution, not only worried about police, but about rivals sending designated crews out to steal marijuana and cash. For that reason, the houses usually only keep enough pot on site to fulfil daily orders, Desmarais said. Munro said the police raided the houses with search warrants April 2, when they saw a man and a woman transferring bags of marijuana between the houses. "These bags were then loaded into vehicles for further distribution," Munro said. The same day, a woman associated with the Renfrew house was seen loading a duffel bag into her car. Her two kids, aged five and 12, were with her. "After dropping the older child off at school, she proceeded to the 2700-block of East 16th Avenue, where she was arrested while handing off the duffel bag full of marijuana to another man. This took place while her five-year-old was waiting in the car a few feet away," Munro said. "Both of these children and an older sibling were turned over to the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development for their safekeeping." Desmarais said Vancouver police are finding larger, more sophisticated "factory grows" in the city. "For the owners of these grows, it is all about creating an easy, untaxed, very lucrative income stream from the production of marijuana," he said. He said civil forfeiture has become a critical tool in B.C. to tackle organized crime in cases where laying criminal charges is difficult. "In our opinion, the B.C. Civil Forfeiture legislation is probably the most robust and effective civil forfeiture legislation in the country," he said. "Our goal though all of this -- primarily -- is to remove the profit motive of these large-scale commercial marijuana producers." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr