A Vancouver man who was arrested driving away from a British Properties home where police seized more than 600 marijuana plants in 2010 has been given a one-year conditional sentence, to be served at home.
Jian Neng Zhu, 37, was sentenced after being found guilty of two drug charges - production of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking - following a trial last year before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein.
Zhu was charged after he was nabbed driving away from a house on West Vancouver's Laurie Crescent in June 2010 that police had been watching as part of an investigation into a suspected grow-op.
Police began investigating in the spring of 2010 after receiving a tip from a neighbour. Officers noted all the windows of the house were boarded up and a black Acura registered to Zhu was seen parked in the driveway.
Zhu had just left the house on June 1, 2010 when police raided the home under a search warrant. Police found the grow-op in a series of basement rooms, including plants in various stages of growth. Authorities later confirmed a bypass of the Hydro meter.
