MORE GROW-OP HOMES NOW FACING FORFEITURE

Definition Of Crime Changed

A dual ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal ordering or upholding the
seizure of two homeowner-run grow-ops will set a precedent for other
trials, lawyers say.

"There are nine to 10 other forfeitures that are now going to be
heard, based on the precedent set by these cases," said defence
lawyer Jay Solomon yesterday.

His clients, Khai Thoi Huynh and Muoi Suu Ta, lost their
4,000-square-foot Abbotsford home after police busted a grow-op in
the basement that was grossing the couple up to $250,000 a year.

The husband and wife were raising three children along with the plants.

The Appeal Court upheld the forfeiture under federal drug laws.

At the same time, the Appeal Court ordered the seizure of a small
Lonsdale home owned by Judy Ann Craig, a gardener who grew clematis
outside and marijuana inside the 1,000-square-foot home.

The forfeitures were made under the six-year-old Canada Drug and Substance Act.

"I thought it was overly harsh and excessive for first-time
offenders," said Solomon. "And we're dealing with pot, not meth or
cocaine," he said.

"But the Court of Appeal strongly disagreed."

Federal prosecutor Ray Leong said the precedent-setting case gives
the police another tool to deal with the drug trade and is
significant because the houses were not seized as proceeds of crime,
but were "offence-related," in that they were instruments of crime.

"It certainly sends out a message that courts are not going to shy
away from taking away houses used in crime," he said.

Solomon said his clients haven't decided whether to seek leave to
appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the next and final step. Such
an appeal is costly and time-consuming.

All parties have 30 days in which to file an appeal.