$38K In Cannabis Seized From Basement-Based Mini-Pot Farm To Cost BC Couple $230K In Home Equity Through Gov't Forfeiture Proceedings

In Kamloops, British Columbia, The Kamloops Daily News reports:

• A retired Heffley Creek couple with a mom and pop grow-op in the basement of their $660,000 log home agreed to forfeit more than a third of the value of the property after a raid by RCMP.
  
  Bruce and Ingrid Duncan signed a consent order giving up 35 per cent of the value of their home and acreage under a measure contained in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
  
  Police found about 200 pot plans in a hydroponic operation in the basement of the couple’s 3,000-foot log home in a March 2010 bust.
  
  Bruce Duncan, 62, pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court to possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Charges against his wife were stayed by the Crown. The couple, married 42 years, were arrested when they returned home in the afternoon to find police inside.
  
  Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said the forfeiture for the “moderately sophisticated” grow-op means the couple is on the hook for an equivalent of $230,000. The pot, if brought to market, was estimated to be worth about $38,000.

***

• Varesi said those caught under forfeiture proceedings often sell their property in order to come up with the equivalent in cash. The Crown’s 35 per cent interest will be registered on the property title.
  
  In addition to the forfeiture, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Meiklem gave Duncan an 18-month conditional sentence, including six months of house arrest.

For the story, see Grow-op bust costly for retired couple (Husband and wife give up 35 per cent of value of home and acreage).