EVIDENCE THROWN OUT OF COURT

Evidence from a major pot bust in West Vancouver has been thrown out
of court after a judge found the two accuseds' rights were violated by
police.

Ngoc Hang Huynh and Van Hoang Huynh were arrested in February 2006 and
charged with unlawfully producing a controlled substance and
unlawfully possessing marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking.

They were arrested after being observed by police entering and leaving
a house in the 500-block St. Andrews Way suspected of containing a
marijuana grow-op.

After the arrest, police seized 450 pot plants as well as growop
equipment. The hydro meter had been bypassed and there were no
personal effects or furniture in the house.

But the accuseds' lawyer argued that there wasn't reasonable grounds
for an arrest and due to a language barrier, the police failed to
advise the Vietnamese-speaking men of their legal rights.

"There was a pattern of carelessness, and it is that pattern, in my
view, which tends to weigh in favour of excluding the evidence," said
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge in written reasons released
Wednesday.