Pubdate: Thu, 24 Feb 2011
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2011 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Barb Pacholik
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

GROW-OP PROPERTIES FORFEITED

Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a 
potentially multi-milliondollar marijuana business will soon be 
growing the federal government's coffers.

While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role 
in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday 
to the Crown as proceeds of crime.

Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any 
outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will 
be paid, and the remaining money will go to the federal government.

"There is a very significant value," he told reporters, adding the 
houses were worth between $139,000 and $400,000 each when they were 
purchased about five years ago.

The former owners consented to the forfeiture of all but one of the 
houses. Nhut Minh Truong, currently serving a four-year prison term 
in Prince Albert, argued Wednesday that he should get to keep at 
least some of his investment.

Speaking by telephone and with the help of an interpreter, Truong 
told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Janet McMurtry he wants his 
$25,000 down payment on the house at 67 Sangster Blvd., where 210 
marijuana plants and 127 clippings to use for seedlings were found. 
Truong said that when he bought the $139,000 house in 2005, he never 
intended it to be used for a grow op and needs the money to support his family.

However, Neely noted that evidence during last year's trial for 
Truong and three others showed the unfurnished house was part of a 
large-scale operation expected to produce three crops a year. The 
revenue potential from that house alone was $283,000. A hole had been 
bored into the foundation to access the incoming power line and 
bypass the metering system. In addition, walls were cut and piping 
installed for a ventilation system, and security cameras installed 
inside and out. He noted the electrical modifications as well as the 
drug operation put neighbouring homes at risk because of the 
potential for fire or violence.

McMurtry agreed with the Crown, concluding the house "was part of a 
significant marijuana grow operation" and should be forfeited.

With agreement by the Crown and defence, she also consented to the 
forfeiture of properties at 12 Kennedy Rd., a $400,000 White City 
home where some of those in the enterprise resided; 106 Hawkes Bay 
and 2 Rink Ave. in Regina and 22 Canterwood Trail near White City, 
which housed grow ops; and 3475 Olive Grove, where preparations were 
being made for a grow op.

Wednesday's forfeitures and the sentencing of the last of those 
involved marks the end of a long-running case that began in February 
2006 with a joint RCMP-Regina police investigation dubbed "Project 
Felwort." Sparked by a suspicious resident, the investigation 
uncovered a trail of fake names, cover businesses -including the 
aptly named "Rich Investments Holding Corp." -and money-laundering 
schemes that led from the drug houses in Regina and area to a 
business in B.C. The investigation culminated in a search of 12 
properties in November 2006 that discovered a total of 2,346 living 
marijuana plants but evidence of an operation that carried a minimum 
revenue potential of $2.4 million annually.

Last fall, Nhut Truong's brother Nghiep Minh Truong, 40, and Nghiep's 
spouse Hon Thi Nguyen, 29, were sentenced to six-year prison terms. 
Their sister-in-law Barbara Tam Truong, 42, received a three-year 
prison sentence. All had been found guilty of production and 
possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, and all but 
Barbara Truong were also convicted of possession of proceeds of crime.

On Wednesday, Phuc Truong -husband of Barbara and brother to Nghiep 
and Nhut -pleaded guilty to laundering $150,000 obtained through the 
drug operation between September 2004 and February 2007. Speaking 
through an interpreter, the 45-yearold Surrey, B.C., man admitted 
that it was illegal money he "helped to clean."

Crown prosecutor Andrea Newsham told the court an accountant 
determined drug money that flowed through B.C. businesses in which 
Phuc had a part was used to help fund the purchase of drug houses.

At the request of the Crown and Phuc, handling his own defence, 
McMurtry imposed an 18-month conditional sentence served in the 
community, including six months of electronically monitored house arrest.

While houses at 2238 Elderkin Dr. and on a Kronau-area acreage also 
had grow-ops, McMurtry found last year that there was no evidence to 
show these accused had control over them. Last year, Hung Van Nguyen, 
30, and Amy Thi Le, 29, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the 
Kronau grow-op. Nguyen received a 33-month prison term, while his 
spouse got a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community.
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