POT SUSPECTS EXPLOITED, COURT TOLD

A group of 28 impoverished Chinese immigrants accused of providing the
"grunt" work in Manitoba's largest-ever marijuana grow operation were
treated like livestock after being lured to the Prairies by the promise of
fast, easy money, court was told yesterday.

RCMP found the accused -- 25 men and three women -- sleeping side-by-side,
head-to-toe in every room of a tiny, 700-square-foot house during an
early-morning raid earlier this month in Sundown, about 125 kilometres
southeast of Winnipeg.

While they were packed like sardines, more than 10,000 mature pot plants
were thriving in four sprawling greenhouses sitting on the same rural farm
property, which was hidden from the public by a thick curtain of trees.

RCMP say the drug operation could have yielded the owners -- who have not
been arrested -- nearly $19 million in street-level sales. Police say the
record haul is connected with other grow operations, including one
uncovered yesterday near the Interlake community of Inwood.

The suspects, most of whom don't speak any English and have no criminal
records, had been recruited by several yet-to-be arrested individuals to
help with the "fall harvest" by doing menial tasks such as watering plants
and picking leaves, court was told.

Many accused people claim they have no idea who they were working for. All
suspects are now being warehoused at the overcrowded provincial Remand
Centre in what is proving to be a logistical and legal nightmare. They have
been charged with production of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking,
which could carry a hefty prison sentence if they are convicted.

One accused, a 48-year-old single mother of a teenaged boy, applied for
bail yesterday but was denied when she was unable to offer any money as a
surety to guarantee she would return to court.

There was no publication ban on the court proceedings.

Defence lawyer Mike Cook said his client, who doesn't speak English, was
collecting welfare while living with her young son in Toronto. She came to
Canada in 1994, and became a Canadian citizen in 2000.

The woman was approached last month by a man in the Chinese community and
told she could make upwards of $300 per day if she came to Manitoba -- her
airfare would be provided -- to work for a couple of weeks, he said.

"She was, essentially, a leaf picker. Her job was to remove the leaves off
the plants, and she didn't even realize what type of plants these were. She
has never been involved in crime or the drug world and didn't even know
this was illegal," said Cook. Provincial court Judge Ken Champagne said the
woman's inability to post a cash guarantee meant he was unable to grant
bail for fear she wouldn't return to Manitoba for a trial.

After her bail was refused, several other co-accused set to apply for bail
abandoned their requests because of their own financial insecurity.

Legal Aid Manitoba has agreed to represent many of the accused, but at
least six are without lawyers after being denied publicly funded attorneys
based on their financial status.

However, all of the suspects who were denied Legal Aid lawyers said in
court yesterday through a translator that they can't afford to hire their
own lawyer.

"I have no money," said one man.

"They cost too much," said another.

At least three people indicated yesterday they plan to represent themselves
at trial and will make their own bail applications as early as tomorrow.
It's not clear how that would work, given the accused don't speak English
and likely have no comprehension of the Canadian justice system.

Just getting the accused into court has been a challenge for sheriff's
officers. Since everyone needs to be handcuffed and shackled for security
reasons, only a few people at a time can be brought into a courtroom.

One of the accused is an older man in a wheelchair. The result is long
delays and gaps between appearances, which will only prove to be more
difficult if Manitoba Justice decides to jointly prosecute all 28 suspects.

There is no Winnipeg court which could accommodate that many accused at one
time.

Cook said many of the accused are in the same situation as his client --
struggling financially, recent immigrants or citizens of the country who
were living in Toronto and looking for a "big break".

Now, they find themselves alone in a jail cell, possibly for a long time.

Crown attorney Anne Turner described the intricate layout of the Sundown
operation.

Four greenhouses, each about 10 metres wide and 90 metres long, housed the
more than 10,000 mature pot plants.

There was a primary drying room, in which police found 600 pounds of
harvested pot. A secondary drying room contained about 600 pounds of
marijuana bud.