B.C. DETECTIVE TESTIFIES ON VIETNAMESE GROW-OP GANGS

It was called Operation Hunger - a police task force that busted a
large and sophisticated marijuana grow operation harboured in suburban
homes around metro.

The grow op involved the purchase of houses that were then modified to
cultivate marijuana. Electricity was pilfered to support the production.

In 2004, police arrested a number people of Vietnamese origin,
charging them with various crimes related to marijuana production.

One of those is Tuan Anh Nguyen. Yesterday, he faced sentencing in
Halifax provincial court.

Called to the stand yesterday was a Vancouver Police Department
officer who specializes in Vietnamese organized crime groups in Canada.

Det. Const. Jim Fisher testified that Vietnamese organizations are the
largest producers of marijuana in the country. Much of their produce
is then smuggled over the border into the United States.

Fisher was not asked to comment on the drug operation in HRM. In
September, Nguyen was convicted of producing marijuana, possession of
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and stealing
electricity.

He was linked to the purchase of two houses and was found to be an
active participant in the grow operation. A raid of one of the homes
netted 548 marijuana plants with a street value of around $578,000.

There were initial discussions in court yesterday over the relevancy
of Fisher's testimony, since Nguyen had not been charged with
belonging to a criminal organization.

In the end, however, Fisher was allowed to give evidence. He described
patterns in Vietnamese grow operations that are dotted across the
country. Such operations are primarily organized through family ties,
Fisher told the court.

Operations are matters of trust: it's how debts are repaid and secrets
kept. That trust, Fisher said, can also be based on fear.

Operations are treated as businesses: records are typically kept
"rather meticulously." There is a "tremendous profit" in these grow
operations and expansion across the country has become inevitable, the
police officer said.

Fisher also described the inner workings of the grow operations. In
many cases, "crop sitters" are paid a salary to tend to the plants.

Others deal with readying marijuana for smuggling, packaging it in an
attempt to hide the drug from police. In some operations, there are
even people employed as security to protect the crop.

While there is no central hierarchy that governs Vietnamese organized
crime, groups do have business relationships with other criminal
organizations.

A form of barter system is developing. In return for the pot, Fisher
said, criminal organizations in the U.S. are sending other things to
Canada - cocaine and illegal weapons, for example.

Some of the challenges for police, Fisher said, are cultural and
language issues. He said there are also problems of personation, where
those involved change names, or claim they are someone different.

The sentencing hearing continues Tuesday.