MAN CHARGED IN DRUG CASE AVOIDS EXTRADITION TO U.S.

Van Ril Huynh, an Ottawa man facing charges in the United States in
connection with a money-laundering organization, will not be extradited to
that country.

Two years ago, on Aug. 29, 2003, Mr. Huynh was stopped by American
officials in Burlington, Vermont. They allegedly found $750,000 in cash
concealed in a secret compartment in the gas tank of the minivan he was
driving. The 38-year-old was on his way back to Canada when he was stopped.

Mr. Huynh was subsequently charged with various money-laundering related
offences in both the United States and Canada. The case was connected to a
major international drug bust in the spring of 2004 that involved police
forces in cities across North America. The operation, known as Operation
Codi in Canada and Operation Candy Box in the U.S., resulted in 170
arrests, including 30 in Ottawa.

However, the charges against Mr. Huynh in Canada were eventually stayed,
and on Feb. 23 of this year, he was ordered extradited to the U.S.

Last week, in his extradition appeal hearing before the Court of Appeal for
Ontario, Mr. Huynh's lawyer, Jeffrey Schroeder, argued that American
officials didn't provide sufficient evidence to show that Mr. Huynh knew
the money was the proceeds of drug trafficking.

The Court of Appeal agreed, saying "the material relied on in support of
the extradition did not contain any direct evidence as to the source of the
cash."

The judges then quashed Mr. Huynh's committal for extradition.

Mr. Schroeder said yesterday that Mr. Huynh, who has a wife and young
child, plans to continue to live and work in Canada.

Mr. Huynh was one of several Ottawans who have been charged in connection
with the cross-border drug operation, which, according to authorities, was
based in Ottawa. At the time of the drug busts in April 2004, one U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration officer described the network, masterminded by
Ottawa businesswoman Mai "Queen Bee" Le, as a "full-blown criminal machine."

Thuan Anh Nguyen, 24, student at the University of Ottawa and the son of a
Vietnamese diplomat, spent more than year in jail in Ottawa after the bust
and was extradited to the United States in June. Mr. Nguyen was an employee
at MDN Currency Exchange, a business owned by Mai Le.

Several others are still awaiting their sentencing and extradition hearings.