No one told me , Interesting will have a look tomorrow .
Homeowner’s legal fate in the hands of Justice Robert Scott
Marijuana raid
By Jason Miller
Posted 1 hour ago
A Belleville superior court judge has two weeks to deliberate on the future of a Toronto woman charged in a 2009 regional drug sweep.
Ying Huang was charged following raids that revealed marijuana plants at Belleville and Brighton properties she purchased about two months before the bust was made, the court heard.
Justice Robert Scott is scheduled to release his verdict Aug. 26. He will also be deciding the fate of John Huang, 45, who served as the real estate agent who aided the purchase of nine of the 11 local properties hit during Project Industrious, one of the largest drug busts ever in the Hastings County.
The four-day trial for both accused concluded Friday and included testimony from local real estate agents who helped launch the investigation after noticing several deals were being brokered at the same time and several drug enforcement officers who spearheaded the regional sweep that resulted in charges against 12 people.
During his submissions, prosecutor, Patrick Hurley said that Ying Huang was not only spotted with one of the key players behind the “criminal enterprise” but she was instrumental in purchasing houses transformed into “indoor factories to grow marijuana.”
He said she attempted to cover her tracks by impersonating her sister, before she was discovered by a local realtor who noticed the name on a document.
“That’s what happens when you live your life with two identities,” Hurley said.
She even used a lease agreement to try and “insulate” her from any wrongdoing because she can blame the tenant, Hurley claimed.
Ying Huang’s lawyer Peter Zaduk stressed his client is a business woman who didn’t reside at any of the homes used as marijuana grow-ops.
He said she had no knowledge the two locations were being used as grow-ups shortly after she purchased the houses, one of which was located on Hickory Grove Drive in Belleville.
“Merely being the landlord of the grow home is not sufficient,” he said.
The seizure of 22,000 marijuana plants involved drug searches in various municipalities, including Bancroft, Sharbot Lake and Toronto areas, in several locations including Hickory Grove, Chelsea Crescent, University Avenue and Tracey Park Drive in Belleville and on Redwood Crescent in Kingston and Seneca Avenue in Brighton.
The first two phases of the bust occurred June 16 and 17, 2009, when marijuana growing operations inBrighton, Belleville and Toronto were raided by police.
Since then, the majority of the accused have pled guilty to drug-related charges. All were Chinese or Chinese immigrants to Canada. Some were deported while others were given conditional sentences and asked to pay thousand of dollars to local charities.
The Crown also seized a plethora items including appliances and properties belonging to some of the accused who pled guilty during the court proceedings over the last two years
The following have already pled guilty to drug-related charges: Fang Chen, 35, Liang Chen, 41, Yuan Tai Zhang, 36, Shu Jei Lee, 45, Qui Fang Lin, 45.
The remaining group includes Xin Ci Wang, 40, Bing Zhi Liu, 38, 25-year-old Zhen Wang and Fen Xing Chen, 52.