COUPLE COULD LOSE HOUSE IN GROW-OP CASE

Federal Law; Prosecutors Move To Seize Home As Pair Go To Trial

Federal prosecutors are attempting to seize the family home of a
Toronto husband and wife with no prior criminal record if they are
convicted of running a marijuana grow operation.

Tam Ngoc Tran and his wife Lien Thi Pham, both in their 50s, were
arrested last year and charged with marijuana production-related
offences, accused of having a medium sized grow-op in their modest
home in the Jane and Finch section of the city.

If convicted at their provincial court trial that begins this morning
in downtown Toronto, the couple may be sentenced to no more than a
few months in jail.

But the federal Integrated Proceeds of Crime Unit has filed notice
that it will also be seeking forfeiture of the home the couple
purchased in 1997 for about $200,000, under the provisions of the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The forfeiture powers first came into effect more than a decade ago.
In 2001, they were expanded by then-Justice minister Anne McLellan to
make it easier to seize anything classified as "offence related
property," as part of a legislative package to fight organized crime.

The law requires anyone convicted of a marijuana production offence
to show why their property should not be seized. The Nova Scotia
Court of Appeal, the highest court to rule on this legislation,
concluded last year that seizing property is "not part of the
punitive sanction" for a growop conviction and should not be
considered part of any sentence that is imposed.

The present federal Conservative government introduced legislation
last fall that would impose mandatory minimum jail sentences of at
least six months for producing as little as one marijuana plant as
long as it was found to be part of a grow-op.

While the federal government has not released data on how many homes
are ordered forfeited each year, many defence lawyers in southern
Ontario say there is an increased effort by prosecutors to try to
seize property even without allegations of a link to organized crime.

"There appears to be a mind set that every act of criminality has to
be punished to the fullest extent," said lawyer Peter Zaduk, who is
representing Mr. Tran and Ms. Pham. "Not only are you supposed to go
to jail. When you come out, you will have nothing left," he observed.

While in some cases "it may be appropriate" for the Crown to seize
property, "no one could say this couple is linked to organized
crime," said Mr. Zaduk.

The potential loss of their family home is disproportionate to the
crime they are accused of committing, he suggested.

The alleged grow operation had not yet been harvested and had a bulk
value of between $50,000 to $75,000, said Mr. Zaduk.

The defence lawyer stated that in court, police will normally assess
the value based on a "street" price per gram, which is significantly
more money than any "Mom and Pop" operators might receive.

There are no allegations of hydro theft and the couple both had
factory jobs for more than two decades.

Mr. Tran suffered a stroke in recent years and had been unable to
work, said Mr. Zaduk.

The couple was arrested after a late night raid by Toronto police,
which alleged there were fire concerns. The risk of fire is often
overstated, insisted Mr. Zaduk, who said he has defended clients in
more than 200 grow-op cases and only once has there been a fire.

An RCMP-commissioned study in British Columbia that was released in
2005 found that there were fires in less than 4% of grow-ops.

Geoffrey Zimmerman, the federal Crown attorney who is seeking the
forfeiture of the couple's home, was unavailable for comment.