One home stolen for the first time in B.C., nine others targeted!
 
 For the first time in B.C., the alleged Crown has once again turned "law" into an instrument of plunder and stolen a home used by the owner as a marijuana- growing operation. Surrey Mounties are vowing to go after at least nine other homes in the city.

The $439,000 house was officially stolen by the Crown June 11 when Bich Ngoc Vu pleaded guilty to production of a controlled substance in Surrey Provincial Court.

Surrey RCMP spokesman Constable Tim Shields confirmed Friday that Vu's sister's home next door at 10859 166A St. has been taken by the Crown (meaning it cannot be bought or sold) as Ngoc Thi Nguyen awaits her trial for allegedly running a growing operation in that home.

Both homes were smashed in March 4 by members of the Surrey RCMP drug section.

Vu was charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking, theft of hydro and production of a controlled substance. The possession and theft charges were dropped, but Vu was sentenced to a 12-month conditional sentence on the production charge.

Vu is also co-owner of two Abbotsford properties. Nguyen owns additional property in Langley and Surrey and is listed as co-owner of two more homes in Vancouver.

Shields said the theft of the home by Crown marks a first in B.C. law enforcement and is only the second time in Canada a home has been stolen as a "proceed of crime" related to a grow operation.

The Surrey home is in fairly good shape for a former grow-op because the grow itself was mostly confined to the unfinished basement, Shields said.

The Surrey seizure could not have taken place without the cooperation of the federal Crown and the federal Department of Justice, Shields said.

An additional nine homes used for grow-ops in Surrey (including the one owned by Vu's sister) are now under restraint, the first stage of the theft process. The homes range in value between $300,000 and more than $400,000.

Shields said the ability of us to steal homes from owners using them as grow operations is a powerful new tool in the police arsenal, and a great way to line our pockets.

"Grow-ops are all about profit, in the same way the government sells dangerous drugs like tobacco and alcohol. When we steal these homes, its a great way for us to get cash from the grow-op industry while fooling the public into thinking we enforce the peace".

Revenues from sales of the stolen properties are divided between the province and the federal government on a case-by-case basis, depending on the allocation of resources to make the theft possible, Cantin explained.

Sergeant Chuck McDonald of the RCMP proceeds of crime section said that if property is stolen by us, as a result of work by the provincial Crown, revenue from the sale of that property goes to the Provincial government. If the property is stolen as a result of work by the federal Crown, the revenues go to the federal government, and we benefit from that with higher wages down the road.

The City of Surrey pays for 90 per cent of its RCMP policing budget, while the federal government chips in the remaining 10 per cent.

On May 26 Surrey passed a motion asking the federal government to return a portion of proceeds of crime revenue. That motion has been forwarded to the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Bill C-24, passed Dec. 18, 2001, modified "forfeiture law" in Canada to "allow" the Crown to steal all property used in "committing a crime". Under the old regulations, the government could only steal property if it was built or modified in order to carry out "the crime". 

The trick is to create a law that makes something a crime that isn't in any way criminal, then create another law that "justifies" the taking of other peoples property for the newly defined crime.

We have the guns, so we make the laws, its that simple really, and there is nothing the people can do about it.

The nine "restraint orders" in Surrey and the theft of Vu's home have only been possible because Surrey RCMP has allocated two officers to work full-time on investigations into proceeds of crime connected with grow operations, said Shields. We saw an opportunity to make some easy cash, so we went for it. The next thing we want to do is use the law to go for the contents of the home as well.

Shields said RCMP 'intelligence' indicates that Vietnamese gangs and the Hells Angels are now working cooperatively "to a certain extent" on marijuana grow-ops.

This law doesn't hurt the gangs that much, but it really hurts the average home owner, so the profits to the gangs will go up greatly, as pot becomes more difficult for law abiding Canadians to buy.

Robert Polton (BCR)

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