POT GARDENS IN KITCHENER HOUSES COST UTILITY $200,000, COURT TOLD

KITCHENER -- The proliferation of indoor marijuana-grow operations in
43 homes in Kitchener has cost the local hydro utilities commission
about $200,000 in lost revenue and repairs since June 2000, a
Kitchener judge heard yesterday.

Justice Donald MacMillan heard evidence about the impact of these
sophisticated pot operations on the community during a sentencing
hearing for five men who were convicted last December of conspiring in
the production and trafficking of marijuana.

Dan Dietrich, a foreman with the Kitchener-Wilmot Public Utilities
Commission, said the loss translates into about $3 for each of the
commission's 72,000 customers.

And because most of the lost money hasn't been recovered, the
commission now refuses to reconnect the hydro until full restitution
is made.

Last December, two of the five men admitted to stealing about $17,000
in hydro by bypassing the main hydro lines to feed growing equipment.

Dietrich said once the growing operation is detected, a crew must dig
deep down and disconnect the hydro bypass, a task that is both
time-consuming and can be dangerous if live wires are touched, which
occurred once and blew a hole in a shovel.

"One of our concerns is if they move out of the house without us
recognizing it (hydro bypass), it becomes a safety concern that no one
knows about," Dietrich said.

The charges that these five men pleaded guilty to last December stem
from a joint forces investigation dubbed Project Bypass, in which
police seized 1,380 marijuana plants worth over $1 million during
raids at eight houses in Kitchener, Cambridge and Guelph on Sept. 12,
2000.

All five men -- Ba N. Dang, Thang Duc Nguyen, Duc H. Nguyen, Duc M.
Nguyen and Quan H. Nguyen -- pleaded guilty to conspiring in the
production of marijuana and conspiring in the possession of marijuana
for the purpose of trafficking.

Yesterday, the five men were slated to be sentenced, but the
proceedings got bogged down in legal wrangling when MacMillan told
drug prosecutor Ed D'Agostino he's not convinced that the evidence
backs a conspiracy charge, despite the guilty pleas.

But D'Agostino said "there is evidence ... which will demonstrate the
involvement that each of the accused had with each other and with each
of the properties" that were raided by police.

Instead of calling witnesses, D'Agostino and four defence lawyers
representing the five convicted men, met behind closed doors for about
two hours to hammer out an agreement of fact on the conspiracy charges.

After that meeting, D'Agostino pointed out to MacMillan each convicted
man's involvement with the eight houses raided by police.

The sentencing hearing continues March 13.