Pubdate: Thursday, April 1, 2004
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Contact: letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Author: Ron Corbett, The Ottawa Citizen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

'THERE IS NOTHING HERE FOR POLICE'

Accused Money Launderer 'Hard Working And Intelligent', Boyfriend Says

While their six-year-old daughter played with dolls on a kitchen floor, the
boyfriend of alleged money-laundering kingpin Mai Le said yesterday he was
trying to raise bail money to bring her home.

"I am told (Ms. Le) will be in jail until next week at least," said Lansom
Nguyen. "They will decide then whether she can be released on bail. I am
hoping she will be released. Otherwise, I am raising our daughter on my own."

Mr. Nguyen, 43, lived with Ms. Le, 38, in a large house on Prince of Wales
Drive, which police raided early yesterday morning. By late afternoon, the
only indication police had been there was a copy of a search warrant left
on the kitchen table. Mr. Nguyen said police took a few boxes of business
documents from the house and not much else.

"This is a family home," said Mr. Nguyen. "There is nothing here for the
police to take. They really didn't need 10 police cars."

Aside from Ms. Le, her boyfriend and children (she has two teenage
daughters from a previous marriage), her parents (who are currently in
Vietnam) and some of her six brothers and sisters also lived in the house.

Eight of Ms. Le's family members were arrested along with her yesterday,
including a sister and two brothers.

The house itself is large and well-appointed inside. There is a
large-screen television in a family room, a marble kitchen island and
expensive wood furniture throughout. Yet it has the chaotic, unkempt feel
of a family house, with toys scattered everywhere, and meal dishes still
left on the island.

There are family photos as well, including one large, studio photo in the
main hallway, of the Le family taken four years ago. Ms. Le's brothers,
sisters, children and parents are in the photo, all well attired and
groomed, a happy and prosperous looking family.

According to Mr. Nguyen, his girlfriend arrived in Canada from Vietnam
about 15 years ago. Ms. Le came with her family, although he said he is not
sure what her parents did for a living. He said her father is retired, and
spends much of his time in Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen said he knows little about Ms. Le's business, other than it "had
something to do with currency exchange," and that she had a couple of
offices in Ottawa.

Police allege that Ms. Le spearheaded the laundering of $5 million U.S. a
week in drug profits through a string of currency transfer and finance
companies.

Police say Ms. Le's money laundering took place mainly through a business
called Vivi Fashion, which operated on Pamilla Street in Little Italy until
January.

Mr. Nguyen said he now runs Vivi Fashion on Wellington Street.

"I am clean. I have done nothing illegal, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting
here," he said. "I own a legitimate business, and the police must know
that. This whole drug kingpin thing, calling Mai Le a drug kingpin, it's
ridiculous."

Ms. Le also has a boarder, a Vietnamese student attending Carleton
University, who expressed surprise at the police raid.

"Mai Le doesn't even smoke," said Vinh Nguyen. "She is a mother of three,
and I have never seen anything in this house that would make you think drug
dealers are living here."

The search warrant for the house on Prince of Wales said police were
looking for documents from numerous companies in Ottawa, including MDN
Currency Transfer, Everest Financial Services, Canasia Financial Services,
Metropole Express Money Exchange and Canada Financial Services.

"I honestly don't know how her business works," said Mr. Nguyen.

"I don't even know how she got into that line of work. But she is very
intelligent, very hard-working, and it never seemed surprising that this
was what she was doing."

He says he has yet to speak to Ms. Le, but he is hoping to get the chance
today. As he talks, his daughter is playing with dolls in a far corner of
the room, glancing at her father from time to time.

She is called Vivi, after his clothing store, and she has her mother's good
looks and bright, wide eyes.

Mr. Nguyen declines a request to conduct the interview elsewhere; he simply
sighs, says he has eaten nothing today, the stress is already building, and
as for going somewhere else: "Why bother. I think everyone in Ottawa is
going to know all about us soon enough."