MAN ORDERED TO SURRENDER TWO PROPERTIES IN FIRST 'TRADITIONAL' TRIAL
UNDER FORFEITURE ACT

A man has been ordered to surrender two of three Vancouver properties
used for marijuana-growing operations after B.C.'s first
'traditional' trial under the Civil Forfeiture Act.

Sarban Singh Rai, a longshoreman and property developer, bought three
adjacent properties between August 2006 and November 2007. The houses
were at 5053, 5035 and 5045 Boundary Road, bought for about $510,000,
$477,000 and $427,000 respectively.

With the help of a "rental assistant," the properties were rented out
to people Rai did not know. When police searched the homes in 2008,
they found "major modifications" to each, including a hydro bypass
for stealing electricity. A total of 2,254 plants, with a potential
value of $282,000 to $507,000, were found in the houses.

Rai said he did not know there were growing operations in the homes,
and did not inspect the properties or have a rental agreement with
the tenants. Rai was never charged with a crime or even contacted by police.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Arne Silverman found Rai was "wilfully
blind," deliberately distancing himself from the properties by going
through a rental assistant and avoiding knowledge of what might be
happening in the homes.

In allowing Rai to keep the 5035 Boundary Rd. house, Silverman said
he was satisfied Rai had no direct involvement with the growing
operations, concluding full forfeiture was "clearly not in the
interests of justice" and that "some relief is called for."

The judge noted counsel told him the trial was the first in B.C.
under the forfeiture act. "There have been other actions commenced,
but those have resulted in settlements, or summary trials. This is
the first traditional trial."