GROW-OP GRANNY JAILED

59-Year-Old Gets 22 Months For Growing Pot

Court officers handed a 59-year-old grandmother tissue to wipe the
tears from her eyes Friday as she was led away to serve a 22-month
sentence on drug trafficking charges.

Anh Sy Hoang was sentenced for her role in a family-run marijuana grow
house operation based in about a dozen city houses and apartments and
valued at more than $5.5 million -- the biggest grow-op bust in
Windsor's history.

Hoang had pleaded guilty last June to producing a controlled
substance, possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking and
theft of hydro electric power.

Despite the contentions of the woman's lawyer, Maria Carroccia, that
Hoang played a minor role, hardly profited from the operation and
should be allowed to serve her sentence in the community rather than
jail, Superior Court Justice Richard Gates disagreed.

"This was anything but the benign cultivation of a crop for personal
use," said Gates. "It had the hallmarks of a criminal enterprise with
a sinister result.... Windsor and Essex County are beset by grow
operations that are spreading like a cancerous evil."

Hoang's sentence is four months longer than the one handed to her son,
Trung Kien Ha, who was sent to jail for 18 months in June for running
a 480-plant operation on Acorn Crescent.

Gates said the stiffer sentence was warranted because Hoang breached
the conditions of her bail by living at the same South Windsor address
as her son after their arrest, in violation of a court non-association
order.

Gates said such a large-scale operation was clearly intended to supply
organized crime and noted that RCMP studies show 85 per cent of
British Columbia grow house operations are directly linked to
Southeast Asian and Vietnamese organized crime or domestic motorcycle
gangs.

He said evidence showed Hoang's role went beyond that of a "mere
gardener" and that she "knew what she was getting into." He said
mitigating factors were that Hoang did not have a lavish lifestyle and
that she pleaded guilty.

When Hoang was arrested in June 2004, police seized an electronic
scale, a bag with 13 marijuana cigarettes and utility bills addressed
to a non-existent person. In connection with the same investigation,
police later raided two Windsor houses where they discovered more than
1,000 marijuana plants worth more than $1 million.

Federal prosecutor Richard Pollock argued for a sentence of between 18
months and two years. Four women and three men, all related through
blood or marriage, were involved in the case. Pollock said only
Hoang's daughter, Dung Sau Ho, remains before the courts. Her trial is
scheduled to begin May 22.

Following the hearing, Carroccia said her client will consider an
appeal of the sentence. She said Hoang should be a strong candidate
for a conditional sentence to be served in the community.

"I think a conditional sentence is appropriate," she said. "She is a
59-year-old first offender who was marginally involved and she poses
no threat to the community. Those are the main considerations for a
conditional sentence."