Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Lena Sin, Staff Wrier POT PROBE LEADS TO FOUR ARRESTS, SEIZURE OF HOUSE, CARS, CASH An eight-month probe into two Vancouver pot "brokers" has culminated in the arrests of four people and seizure of two cars, a house and more than $100,000 in cash. Vancouver police revealed the details of "Project Trapdoor" on Thursday, saying the bust had made a significant impact on the local drug trade. "Anecdotally, we can say it created a significant gap in the organization and distribution of marijuana among certain groups. There was an immediate effect felt on the street, particularly with some groups that were moving large amounts of marijuana," said Sgt. Brad Desmarais, who works with the gangs and drug section. "Our focus here was on disruption, but also removing the profit motive, because these people are obviously making an enormous amount of money that is untaxed." Project Trapdoor started in August 2008 and focused on two houses: one in the 4800-block Knight and another in the 3200-block Renfrew streets. Police allege that these homes were used as "transfer houses" in the marijuana trade. Such homes function much like a brokerage in that pot growers sell their marijuana to the transfer house, which is then sold "wholesale" to other drug dealers or drug organizations. "They're almost like a brokerage. The house becomes known to a number of groups or a number of organizations or a number of people and they'll put in orders," said Desmarais. Transfer houses grade the marijuana before buying it from a grower. And drug dealers buying from the transfer house sometimes bid on the pot, said Sgt. Neil Munro. Project Trapdoor culminated on April 2 with the arrests of 45-year-old Van Ngan Ngan Nguyen and his wife, Thi Thuy Nguyen, 41. They have been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. The Nguyens were living at the Renfrew home. Their three children have been taken into custody of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Ping Ting Chen, 25, and Zhi Hua Zhao, 34, who were linked to the Knight Street house, have also been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. Chen owns that home, which was assessed at $626,000 in 2008. Police seized 17 kilograms of marijuana during the investigation. A 2004 Acura MDX and a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta, as well as $79,000 in cash, were also seized under proceeds of crime laws, meaning Crown counsel will ask for forfeiture of the assets upon conviction. In addition, the house on Knight Street and $40,000 US in cash were seized under the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Act, which allows the provincial government to apply in civil court for forfeiture of assets acquired through or used to engage in criminal activity. The Renfrew house was not seized, due to insufficient evidence. The Civil Forfeiture Act is often used by police when the evidence is not strong enough to stand up in criminal court. Investigators said Thursday they did not know the value of the seized assets, although it was likely less than the cost of the probe. Desmarais said that investigations into transfer houses require immense resources and are not undertaken often for that reason. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr