StratCann
Two men who worked as “gardeners” at a large, unlicensed cannabis operation in rural Ontario have been granted conditional discharges, according to the Niagara Falls Review.
The men were arrested following a 2025 raid triggered by a tip from Health Canada to police. The site was licensed to produce cannabis for non-commercial, medical purposes.
Police say the referral was based on information provided by Health Canada that cannabis was being grown in contravention of the issued registrations.
Investigators located 4,098 cannabis plants as well as 33.2 pounds (~15 kilograms) of dried, processed cannabis. The police claim that the cannabis is valued at more than $2 million, although it’s unclear how this is broken down. A bust in 2022 that involved 2,400 plants and 16 kg of cannabis was valued at $1.2 million, based on an estimated value of approximately $500 per plant.
Although the two low-level employees had been charged, the Court was told the licence holder associated with the site was never charged in connection with the operation.
“I find it curious, and perhaps somewhat unsettling, that the person who hired these two men who set up this operation and who stood to profit ultimately from the growth of these plants and their eventual sale … that that person, at this point at least, is not accountable for their actions,” the judge said.
Two men who were arrested at the greenhouse, Ruyin Chen, 59, and Sirikat Khumhueang, 36, are both new immigrants to Canada who do not speak English.
Judge Discharges Two Involved in Cannabis Farm Raid, Questions Why Licence Holder Not Charged
