REALTOR ACCUSED OF GROWING DOPE

Woman and Husband Allegedly Ran Two Grows; One at Home, One in Suite

RICHMOND - A Richmond real-estate agent has been charged with running
marijuana grow-ops -- one at a home where five children were found.

Tammy Wing Yan Tsui, 31, of Macdonald Realty Westmar, and her husband,
Clement Kin Keung Cheung, 36, are charged with growing marijuana and
possession for the purpose of trafficking. Tsui faces one count; her
husband two.

It's the latest example of a B.C. realtor being implicated in an
illicit drug operation (see sidebar).

The charges follow the Richmond RCMP marijuana enforcement team's July
search of a home in the 4300-block Blair Drive and an apartment in the
7400-block Minoru Boulevard.

Police said they found 1,126 plants at Blair Drive -- and evidence of
a recent fire -- and 584 plants at Minoru Boulevard.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Nycki Basra said the family lived in the home, but
there was nothing but plants in the suite. Neither Tsui nor Cheung had
a police record.

The couple have two children, aged two and four. The others were
visiting and all have been put in care of the children's ministry.

Tsui was licensed as a realtor by the Real Estate Council of B.C. in
January 2005.

Macdonald Realty Westmar managing broker Andrew Leung said he was
shocked when he heard of the allegations yesterday. He would not say
if Tsui was still working there.

"We are unable to comment on specific details related to Tammy Tsui,"
he said.

Tsui, when asked about the charges, said, "No comment."

On her website, www.tammyhomesold.com. she says, "I care about this
community," adding: "I would like to be your trusted guide."

Darryl Plecas, a criminologist with the University College of the
Fraser Valley, who studies grow-ops in B.C., said it's not surprising
to see realtors connected to grow-ops.

"I would say they would know where most of the best properties are
that could hold the grow," Plecas said. "If you are a realtor who is
sort of connected to growers, you would also be mindful of what would
be the most suitable property that would be exposed to the least
likelihood of detection.

"Some realtors seem to have a disproportionate number of grows related
to their sales records."

Anthony Cavanaugh, spokesman for the Real Estate Council of B.C., said
realtors can be disciplined through reprimands, suspensions and
cancellations of licences.

"In a case where there is an urgent circumstance where the consumer is
put at risk . . . it may warrant a situation where the council may
immediately issue a suspension without going to a hearing," he said.

He said the Tsui case might "very well" qualify as such a
case.

"The council is very aware of this situation and we are currently
investigating it," Cavanaugh said.

Brian Naphtali, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater
Vancouver, said it is "totally unacceptable" for a realtor to use
knowledge of the market in an unlawful way.

"If they are found guilty of a charge like this their membership could
be withdrawn," he said.

Tsui and Cheung are to appear in court on Oct. 18.

[sidebar]

REALTORS USING PROPERTIES FOR GROW-OPS NOT UNCOMMON

There have been several cases of realtors using their properties to
conceal drug-production:

In September 2005, a Vancouver realtor was found to be concealing a
grow-op at her rented home. It produced 166 plants and had bypassed
the hydro lines. Five years earlier, she owned a Richmond home where a
violent grow-rip took place.

In September 2005, two Surrey realtors and a mortgage broker were
charged with 91 counts relating to using forged papers to obtain
fraudulent mortgages to purchase houses illegally, many later used for
grow-ops.

A North Vancouver realtor had her Lonsdale-area home seized in a
ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal after she was busted for growing
marijuana inside the home.

Police said she even claimed expenses on her income-tax return for
hiring help to trim, clone and transplant the plants.

A Richmond realtor had his licence suspended by the Real Estate
Council of B.C. in September 2005 after he was charged with production
and possession of ecstasy after police busted an industrial-sized lab
in a building owned by the realtor on No. 5 Road.