NEIGHBOURHOOD ABUZZ AFTER ARREST OF 'QUEEN BEE'

Wednesday's bust of an international crime network rooted in Ottawa was all
the talk in Chinatown yesterday. That's where a large portion of the city's
Vietnamese community is located and there talk centred on the ring's
alleged "Queen Bee," 38-year-old Mai Le.

The Vietnamese national was arrested at her upscale Prince of Wales Dr.
home Wednesday as part of a string of early morning raids in cities across
North America.

Police allege she is at the centre of a huge drug and money-laundering ring
that stretched from California and the eastern U.S. to Toronto, Vietnam and
other parts of Southeast Asia.

"Everywhere you go in Chinatown today you hear people talking about it,"
said Puan Nguyen at a Somerset St. restaurant. "And a lot of people are
shocked because they know this lady. She used to do business in Chinatown
. it's quite a shock."

One of the 32 raids conducted in Ottawa busted a grow operation just a few
houses away from Nguyen's.

"It's a Vietnamese thing and I'm feeling a little bit ashamed about what's
going on, but what can I do?" he said.

When asked if he's concerned that this will leave a black mark on the
community, Nguyen said he fears it might.

"A number of people feel that way. I feel that way," he said. "It's quite a
shame."

Not everyone in the community shared that sentiment.

"It's one individual," one man said, declining to give his name. "It's also
one person charged for terrorism (this week in Ottawa). Does that mean all
Muslims are terrorists?"