GUELPH – A judge will deliver his sentence later this month for a man labelled by the feds as the “operating mind” behind a “sophisticated” Fergus marijuana growing operation busted more than two years ago.
Wei Chen pleaded guilty last month in Guelph court to two counts of possessing cannabis for the purpose of selling it, an offence under the federal Cannabis Act.
On June 24, 2021, OPP officers executed a warrant at 620 Glengarry Crescent, finding what federal prosecutor Clyde Bond referred to as a “sophisticated grow operation.”
A press release from the OPP at the time stated police seized thousands of plants said to be worth millions, as well as “a large quantity of Canadian currency.”
Bond read out agreed facts about the case before the court, detailing six rooms inside the Glengarry Crescent building filled with 4,341 plants, as well as makeshift living quarters with several mattresses on the floor, and a large TV screen displaying video feeds from surveillance cameras monitoring the building’s exterior.
Court heard police located 130 pounds of processed cannabis bud, packaged by the pound and placed in a storage room, as well as bundles of cash totalling $11,430.
Despite there being four personal-use licenses for growing a total of 1,752 marijuana plants on the property, Chen, and another man found at the building that day, was not authorized.
As the investigation continued, police determined Chen ran a numbered company that leased the building starting in June 2020 at a monthly cost ranging between $13,500 and $14,500, and paid hydro bills that Bond said “regularly exceeded” $30,000 each month.
Corporate records obtained by the Advertiser list Chen as president, director, secretary and treasurer for the numbered corporation, as well as his home address in Aurora.
Chen’s phone was also seized, Bond said, with police finding photos of vacuum-sealed cannabis, stacks of cash, and numerous mature marijuana plants, along with text messages sent offering marijuana for sale by the pound.
The prosecutor said that “damning” evidence pointed to Chen selling cannabis.
Police did not dismantle or seize growing equipment in June, court heard, and Chen was later granted an authorization from Health Canada to grow 463 plants at the Glengarry Crescent address, despite police having made the feds aware of charges against him.
“Why Health Canada did what they did, who knows, it’s a mystery to me … the fact is that the accused, knowing that he had been charged with a significant and serious set of offences, went right back to it,” Bond said during submissions to Judge Matthew Stanley in Guelph court on Aug. 8.
On Dec. 15, 2021, the same OPP officers executed another warrant at the Glengarry address.
As in the summertime, there were licenses to grow plants there, this time for 1,802 plants. But police found 2,447 — 645 more than the number permitted.
Chen was included on a licence to grow up to 463 plants, but wasn’t there on that winter day.
York Regional Police found him at his Aurora residence when executing a warrant there.
Police discovered utility bills for the Fergus building, several cell phones; bags of cannabis leaves, stems, and trimmings; a money counter; and several pounds of vacuum-sealed cannabis bud.
The 42-year-old was later charged in relation to the June and December searches.
Forfeiture orders, to which Chen has consented to without argument, will see more than $16,000 in cash surrendered to the government along with growing equipment.
Though the Crown originally wanted to go the more serious “indictment” route, defence lawyer Darren Sederoff told the court discussions between the Crown and defence caused the Crown to proceed summarily, “so that my client could attempt … to seek a discharge on the charges.”
Summary offences carry less weighty outcomes than indictable offences.
Under the Cannabis Act, on summary conviction for having marijuana with intent to sell, the maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
Had Chen been convicted of an indictable offence, he would have been facing up to 14 years behind bars, though courts rarely impose maximum sentences.
Sederoff cited case law within the past six years, noting outcomes for similar offences that ranged from house arrest to a finding of guilt without a conviction.
“Judges have granted conditional discharges (finding of guilt without conviction) for overages of 6,000 (plants) [while] being a licence holder,” Sederoff said, referencing two specific cases.
The defence lawyer told court Chen is a gainfully employed real estate agent with two young children and an electrical engineering degree.
“Mr. Wei Chen is not a threat to the public,” Sederoff asserted.
“I’m hoping your honour will give him this opportunity, in light of both his pleas and everything the defence has positioned, for conditional discharge with two years probation.”
Sederoff also noted Chen’s guilty pleas saved a lot of court time, including two superior court trials.
The Crown is seeking consecutive maximum sentences of six months for each offence, for a total of one year behind bars.
“He is the operating mind; the evidence is clear, he is not a gardener, he is not even quote-unquote, as my friend would say, ‘a licensee with an overage,’” Bond said.
The prosecutor provided Stanley with three examples of past case law, the crux of which was the court’s continued disapproving view toward large-scale marijuana growing operations, despite changes in the legal landscape around growing and using marijuana.
“This calls for a demonstrative sentence dealing with deterrence … and denunciation,” Bond argued, adding the Crown was willing to drop charges against the co-accused in the case because Chen was taking responsibility for the operation.
Speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, Chen told the court his family relies on him financially.
The court had earlier heard Chen’s real estate licence would be revoked if he was convicted.
“I am very, very sorry for what I did, and I do wish it that you would give me a chance,” Chen said through the interpreter.
Though the judge was prepared to deliver a sentence, because of scheduling issues, Chen will return to court on Sept. 28 to find out what his future holds.
