HOUSES SEIZED IN CIVIL ACT

Police Say Law Is 'A Great Tool'

Two homes in Abbotsford used to house large marijuana grow ops were
the first locally to be seized under the province's Civil Forfeiture
Act, Abbotsford police Chief Const. Ian Mackenzie said Thursday.

The Abbotsford police department's drug squad found almost 4,000
marijuana plants at rural homes on Simpson Road and on Willet Road
recently.

The houses were sold, mortgages paid off and $230,000 paid to the B.C.
government under the act.

"We recognized early on that this new law would be a great tool for
police to hit back at organized crime," said Mackenzie in a release.

"We were one of the first police departments in the province to refer
files to the civil forfeiture office and we will continue to do so
because it is an innovative option for police that is obviously
working well."

If any eligible cases come up, they are referred to the civil
forfeiture office, which then pursues forfeitures, said deputy chief
Rick Lucy on Thursday.

"We've had a few files referred. These are the first couple we've had
in Abbotsford," said Lucy, who expects more forfeitures to be
announced in the future.

While organized crime is one group targeted by the act, it can also be
applied to those who act independently, he noted.

The act came into force in May 2006. To date, more than $2 million in
cash and assets obtained through illegal activities have been turned
over to Victoria. More than 60 other cases are being actively pursued
by the government's civil forfeiture office.