PRISON TERM FOR GROW-OP

A Kamsack-area woman pled guilty Thursday to charges stemming from an
outdoor marijuana grow operation.

Cecilia Erisman was sentenced to two years and five months in prison
after pleading guilty to one charge of cultivation of cannabis
marijuana and one charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking
in Yorkton's Court of Queen's Bench.

The charges stem from a September 2004 raid conducted by RCMP on a
farm northeast of Kamsack. Police found 550 marijuana plants and an
undisclosed quantity of processed marijuana.

According to Dave Rusnak, agent for the federal Crown, there was also
an order of forfeiture of two quarters of land, the house, barn,
outbuildings, various pieces of equipment and vehicles, which were all
owned by Erisman.

Roughly a year and a half ago, Dale Meadows was sentenced to three
years and four months in prison on charges also related to the raid.
Rusnak said Meadows also had to forfeit virtually everything he owned.

Insp. Dave Sabean with the RCMP's Integrated Proceeds of Crime (IPOC)
section, said there are two types of property that can be forfeited:
offense-related property and proceeds of crime.

Offence-related property is used to assist in the commission of an
offence. For example, if a vehicle is being used to transport illegal
drugs, that vehicle could be forfeited as offence-related property, he
explained.

Proceeds of crime property is purchased with the tax-free wealth
accumulated from criminal activity.

"If somebody is living beyond their means or has no means to pay for
what they have and we can prove that, then they are living off the
avails of crime, (for example), drug trafficking," said Sabean.

Forfeited property becomes the possession of the Crown and is sold.
Since 1996, the 12 IPOC units from across Canada have seized more than
$450 million in criminal assets, he said.

Sabean explained the IPOC units make it less attractive to take part
in criminal activity.

"We get involved in order to take away their capital, their ability to
start up again. So I think that has a significant impact on organized
crime and criminals in general," he said.