HOUSES SEIZED IN BUST TO BE SOLD BY PROVINCE

Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a
potentially multimillion-dollar marijuana business will soon be
growing the federal government's coffers.

While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role
in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday
to the Crown as proceeds of crime.

Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any
outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will
be paid and the remaining money will go to the federal government.

"There is a very significant value," he told reporters, adding the
houses were worth between $139,000 and $400,000 each when they were
purchased about five years ago.

The former owners consented to the forfeiture of all but one of the
houses. Nhut Minh Truong, currently serving a four-year prison term
in Prince Albert, argued Wednesday he should get to keep at least
some of his investment.

Speaking by telephone and with the help of an interpreter, Truong
told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Janet McMurtry he wants his
$25,000 down payment on the house at 67 Sangster Blvd., where 210
marijuana plants and 127 clippings to use for seedlings were found.
Truong said when he bought the $139,000 house in 2005, he never
intended it to be used for a grow op and needs the money to support his family.

However, Neely noted evidence during last year's trial for Truong and
three others showed the unfurnished house was part of a large-scale
operation expected to produce three crops a year. The revenue
potential from that house alone was $283,000.

A hole had been bored into the foundation to tap into the incoming
power line and bypass the metering system. In addition, walls were
cut and piping installed for a ventilation system and security
cameras installed inside and out.

Neely noted the electrical modifications as well as the drug
operation put neighbouring homes at risk because of the potential for
fire or violence.

McMurtry agreed with the Crown, concluding the house "was part of a
significant marijuana grow operation" and should be forfeited.

With agreement by the Crown and defence, she also consented to the
forfeiture of properties at 12 Kennedy Rd., a $400,000 White City
home where some of those in the enterprise resided; 106 Hawkes Bay
and 2 Rink Ave. in Regina and 22 Canterwood Trail near White City
which housed grow ops; and 3475 Olive Grove where preparations were
being made for a grow op.

Wednesday's forfeitures and the sentencing of the last of those
involved marks the end of a long-running case that began in February
2006 with a joint RCMP-Regina police investigation dubbed "Project
Felwort." Sparked by a suspicious resident, the investigation
uncovered a trail of fake names, cover businesses -including the
aptly named "Rich Investments Holding Corp." -and money-laundering
schemes that led from the drug houses in Regina and area to a business in B.C.

The investigation culminated in a search of 12 properties in November
2006 that discovered a total of 2,346 living pot plants but evidence
of an operation that carried a minimum revenue potential of $2.4
million annually.

Last fall, Nhut Truong's brother Nghiep Minh Truong, 40, and Nghiep's
spouse Hon Thi Nguyen, 29, were sentenced to six-year prison terms.
Their sister-in-law Barbara Tam Truong, 42, received a three-year
prison sentence. All had been found guilty of production and
possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, and all but
Barbara Truong were also convicted of possession of proceeds of crime.

On Wednesday, Phuc Truong -husband of Barbara and brother to Nghiep
and Nhut -pleaded guilty to laundering $150,000 obtained through the
drug operation between September 2004 and February 2007. Speaking
through an interpreter, the 45-year-old Surrey, B.C., man admitted
that it was illegal money he "helped to clean."

Crown prosecutor Andrea Newsham told the court an accountant
determined drug money that flowed through B.C. businesses in which
Phuc had a part was used to help fund the purchase of drug houses.

At the request of the Crown and Phuc, handling his own defence,
McMurtry imposed an 18-month conditional sentence served in the
community, including six months of electronically monitored house arrest.

While houses at 2238 Elderkin Dr. and on a Kronau-area acreage also
had grow-ops, McMurtry found last year there was no evidence to show
these accused had control over them. Last year, Hung Van Nguyen, 30,
and Amy Thi Le, 29, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the
Kronau grow-op. Nguyen received a 33-month prison term, while his
spouse got a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community.