CANADIANS GREW POT ON HEMP FARM: NICARAGUA

Burlington man held, 6 others being sought

Seven Canadians and one Nicaraguan have been charged with growing marijuana
on a Nicaraguan government-approved hemp farm.

Paul Thomas Wylie, 45, of Burlington, has been held in a Nicaraguan jail
since Dec. 23 on drug charges.

Six other Canadians, including Grant Sanders, 35, of Burlington, are being
sought by Nicaraguan police on the same charges.

They are believed to be in Canada.

The Canadians were involved in Burlington-based Hemp Agro International,
which had permission to grow hemp in Nicaragua on a 100-hectare plantation.

The fibres from hemp were once widely used in rope-making, but it is also
closely related to the plant that produces cannabis, or marijuana.

Wylie has been visited in prison by consular officials to make sure he is
being treated fairly and his rights observed.

``So far they have been,'' Marion Chamorro of the Canadian consulate in
Managua said.

Wiley's family in Guelph were not aware that he had been arrested until
they were contacted by The Star last night.

His sister-in-law, Linda Wylie, said: ``We heard from him two weeks before
Christmas. He said he'd call on Christmas but he didn't.''

Denis Thibault, the Canadian ambassador to Nicaragua, will be meeting
officials to discuss Wylie's situation today, said Sophie Legendre, foreign
affairs department spokesperson.

If the six Canadians being sought by Nicaraguan police are in Canada,
Nicaragua will have to apply under the extradition treaty to have them
moved to Nicaragua to face charges, Legendre said.

She wouldn't comment on whether such a request had been made.

The plantation, located just east of Managua, was burned last month by
police on orders from the health ministry.

``We received all the permits and authorization from the government (of
Nicaragua) to grow industrial hemp. We spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars in research, development, and planting,'' Sanders said yesterday.

``Now, they've changed the rules.''

The method and timing of cultivation was consistent with growing hemp for
commercial purposes and not the illicit drug trade, said Don Wirtshafter, a
U.S. lawyer who said he testified as an expert witness for Wylie when he
appeared in a Managua court on Jan. 1.

The hearing was held to determine whether there was enough evidence to
charge Wylie and the others with cultivating marijuana, an offence that
carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

With files from Associated Press