JUDGE: SON LED ASTRAY BY PUSHERS

A standout university student who admitted to smuggling nearly 75 kilos of
heroin and "Special K"-type drugs -- worth $80 million -- concealed in
Chinese duck eggs was sentenced to time served.

Justice Wailan Low said "Chris" Zhi Yong Huang, 23, a top student at
Wilfrid Laurier University, was led into the operation by his parents. The
judge, who is also of Chinese dissent, said she understands how his culture
created a "sense of filial duty." Huang, who worked weekends at the family
business, a Scarborough warehouse, shows potential for rehabilitation, Low
said.

The scheme was uncovered in an August 2000 bust -- the second-largest drug
seizure to date -- resulting from a probe involving investigators from
Toronto, Vancouver, the RCMP, Hong Kong and China.

Assets Seized

Ottawa also seized between $2.5 million and $3 million in cash and assets,
including a $200,000 Alton Towers Circle condo.

Huang's mother, Wei Hong Son, 51, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to
import 57 kilos of heroin and 17 kilos of "crystal meth" and was sentenced
to 17 years. She was given five years' credit for time served.

"She was the liaison and conduit to the local distributors and was
instrumental to the importation from Huang Pu, China," Crown attorney
Andrew Sabbadini said.

Her son, pleaded guilty to importing the drugs and possession of the mock
Ecstasy drug -- Special K -- for the purpose of trafficking. The judge gave
him triple credit for the two years he spent in custody.

Son and her husband, Rui Huan Huang, 51, -- wanted on a Canada-wide warrant
and believed to be in China -- ran a food importation business as a front
for the drug-smuggling operation, Sabbadini said.