DRUG KINGPIN GETS SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

He's out more than $200,000, property and three vehicles -- and on top
of all that, a former Regina drug kingpin is facing a lengthy prison
term.

Nam Lu Truong was sentenced this week to seven years in prison after
pleading guilty to conspiracy to traffick in cocaine, possession of
proceeds of crime, and trafficking in cocaine.

Under a proposal put forward by Crown prosecutor Wade McBride and
defence lawyer Dave Halvorsen on Tuesday, Truong was sentenced to five
years in prison and also fined $317,483. He forfeited $217,483,
leaving a debt of $100,000 outstanding. As a result, Justice Ian
McLellan added two more years to the sentence.

Truong, 26, was one of the key players caught in a lengthy
investigation dubbed "Project Foshiba" in which RCMP and Regina police
used surveillance, tracking, undercover agents and wiretaps. The
offences occurred between Nov. 12, 2002, and Jan. 26, 2004, when the
operation was busted.

The conspiracy involved eight other people identified by
police.

Several kilograms of cocaine were picked up in Vancouver and driven to
Regina by men who acted as couriers in the organization. In an
interview, McBride said the organization had work schedules for
distributors who were on call; people were assigned cellphones and
vehicles; and new customers were interviewed and given code words to
use for locations, prices and quantities.

During sentencing submissions earlier this year for others involved,
court heard some of the drugs were cut and packaged at Double Eight
Grocery, a convenience store at 631 College Ave.

However, the main base of operations was an apartment at 3319 Argyle
St., where salesmen working the phones arranged deals. Bags of drugs
were buried at drop sites in alleys and easements to make them easier
to distribute for sale at various locations around the city.

Two drug couriers, two lower-level salesmen, and one man identified as
the local director of sales were sentenced earlier this year to
penalties ranging from 18 months to three years nine months.

In addition to being sent to prison, Truong was ordered to forfeit two
houses on the 1300 block of Wallace Street, the grocery store, three
vehicles -- a 2002 Cadillac Escalade, a 1997 BMW 328 convertible, and
a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee -- as well as two handguns and ammunition.

Court heard that thanks to a substantial casino windfall, Truong could
have lived comfortably without the drug money. Instead, he's suffered
a major loss.