Pubdate: Sat, 14 Jun 2003
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Matthew Ramsey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

POT HOUSE SEIZED IN B.C.

Mounties, using forfeiture as a new tool in their arsenal, target nine
other houses

VANCOUVER -- For the first time in B.C. history, the Crown has seized a home
used by the owner as a marijuana grow operation, and Surrey Mounties are
vowing to go after at least nine other houses in the city.

The $439,000 Surrey house was officially forfeited this week when Bich Ngoc
Vu pleaded guilty in provincial court to production of a controlled
substance.

RCMP Const. Tim Shields confirmed Friday that Vu's sister's home next door
has also been restrained by the Crown, meaning it cannot be bought or sold,
as Ngoc Thi Nguyen awaits her trial for allegedly running a grow-op in that
house.

Police raided both houses March 4. They found a 397-plant grow-op inside
Vu's house that included a setup used to steal electricity, surveillance
cameras and a motion-detection system designed to shut off the electricity
theft device if anyone approached the exterior meter.

Vu was charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking, theft of
electricity and production of a controlled substance. The possession and
theft charges were dropped, but Vu was sentenced to a 12-month conditional
sentence on the production charge.

Forfeiture of the house was included in her plea agreement.

Vu is also co-owner of two Abbotsford properties. Nguyen owns additional
property in Langley and Surrey and is listed as co-owner of two more homes
in Vancouver.

Shields said the forfeiture of the house marks a first in B.C. law
enforcement and is only the second time in Canada a house has been seized as
a proceed of crime related to a grow operation. The first seizure took place
April 30 in London, Ont.

The Surrey house is in fairly good shape for a former grow-op because the
marijuana plants were mostly confined to the unfinished basement, Shields
said.

An additional nine houses used for grow-ops in Surrey (including the one
owned by Vu's sister) are now under restraint, the first stage of the
forfeiture process.

For privacy reasons addresses of the eight houses cannot be released until a
forfeiture decision is made after the owners go to trial, said Lise Cantin,
B.C. region director of communications for the Department of Justice.

Shields said the ability to seize houses from owners using them as grow-ops
is a powerful new tool in the police arsenal.

"Grow-ops are all about profit -- that's the reason for their existence and
this move has taken the profit out of grow-ops," Shields said.

Revenues from sales of forfeited properties are divided between the province
and the federal government on a case-by-case basis, depending on the
allocation of resources to make the forfeiture, Cantin said.

Unlike the U.S., Canadian police do not get a share of the revenue, nor do
cities such as Surrey that fund their own police. "We're not happy about
that at all," said Surrey Coun. Gary Tymoschuk. "That money should come back
(to the municipality that funds the police doing the work)."

The City of Surrey pays for 90 per cent of its RCMP policing budget, while
the federal government chips in the remaining 10 per cent. Tymoschuk said he
would like proceeds of crime revenue sharing to reflect the funding formula.

Bill C-24, passed Dec. 18, 2001, modified forfeiture law in Canada to allow
the Crown to seize all property used in committing a crime. Under the old
regulations, the government could seize property only if it was built or
modified to carry out a crime.

Shields said the new legislation makes it "somewhat easier" to seize
offence-related property, but it is still a time consuming and labour
intensive process.
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