GROW-OP HOUSE ORDERED FORFEITED TO CROWN: RCMP

A house used as a marijuana grow operation has been ordered forfeited to
the Crown, say Burnaby RCMP.

Judge Bagnell has ordered the property at 3788 Venables Street to be
forfeited to the Crown, with the provincial and federal government
splitting the proceeds 50-50, said Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Pierre Lemaitre.

The 2005 assessment of the house was $367,000 (with market value another 25
per cent on top of that), with $279,188 in equity. The former homeowner was
also given a nine-month conditional sentence.

Forcing people in the drug trade to suffer financially for their crimes is
a tactic RCMP have employed for some time, but "it's not a very fast
process," Lemaitre said.

"We have to find a way to discourage these individuals," he said. One of
the best ways is to prevent them from making any money in the drug trade.

So far, the Burnaby RCMP's 'Green Team' has similar cases involving another
seven houses and one business warehouse that are awaiting court judgments.