WOMEN ACQUITTED OF POT CHARGES

Suspected Calgary "crop sitter" Dung Kim Le turned a blind eye to the
valuable harvest growing beneath her feet, a judge ruled yesterday.

But Justice Rosemary Nation said neither Le, or her mother, Thi Phu
Dinh, had any control over the pot grower living in the basement of
their northeast home.

As a result, Nation acquitted both mother and daughter of three
charges, including possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking.

Le, 39, and Dinh, 63, were charged after police stumbled on the crop
of 265 plants growing inside their home at 108 Harvest Creek Cl. N.E.

Const. Nicole Martin, responding to a Sept. 11, 2001, complaint of
lights flickering, found the home in darkness and entered to determine
if a break-in had occurred.

Once inside, Martin discovered the crop growing in the basement and
alerted other officers who obtained a search warrant and seized the
drugs.

Nation agreed with Crown prosecutor Louise Proulx that Le should have
known the man who shared the rent with her, Ly Truong, was involved in
illicit activity.

The Queen's Bench judge said the sophisticated operation constructed
in the downstairs area could not have been secretly built.

"The type of construction that would be required ... could not be done
without the upstairs residents being aware of some construction being
done," Nation said.

The judge noted Le admitted questioning Truong when she discovered a
ventilation duct had been constructed through her children's closet
while she was out.

Truong told her to mind her own business.

"I find that she was willfully blind to the activity that she
suspected was illegal," said Nation.

But she agreed with defence counsel Noel O'Brien that Le -- a former
refugee with four children who had recently left her husband -- didn't
have control over Truong's actions.

"I am unable to find the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt
that Ms. Le had control," she said.

Both Le and Dinh were acquitted of possession, cultivation and theft
of electricity for setting up a bypass of the electrical meter.

No one identified as living in the basement has ever been charged.