Crime Correspondent: Calgary

Chase Charles Inward, 25, is charged with escaping lawful custody and property damage.

Chase Charles Inward, 25, is charged with escaping lawful custody and property damage.

Calgary police have recaptured a man who escaped custody by climbing through a bathroom ceiling after complaining of feeling ill.Police say ...

Gurdev Samra pleading guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXPrOo5OHKksIAvGW3blOQ4fnUG5aT0ub4z62tAbiV_f8Pr8vgeVu3ZgRntKvB_zcvzZjF-pabpOMVbG7Q2wT-gVYgQ9gbXXDJP7MYmCC2mFyZlkQnNzG3XRf7rQLkvuoweD8P91fy60/s1600-h/21r.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187144137431124578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXPrOo5OHKksIAvGW3blOQ4fnUG5aT0ub4z62tAbiV_f8Pr8vgeVu3ZgRntKvB_zcvzZjF-pabpOMVbG7Q2wT-gVYgQ9gbXXDJP7MYmCC2mFyZlkQnNzG3XRf7rQLkvuoweD8P91fy60/s320/21r.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a> Samra, 63, was handed a one-year conditional sentence after pleading guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants at his home on Eldorado Close N.E., which was busted by police last July.The judge took a dim view of the poppy garden, despite the fact cultivation of the plants was for personal use in tea -- something Samra had done since he was a youngster in India.Clearly, there is no place in Canadian society for growth of this product," provincial court Judge William Cummings said. "It is completely offensive to the community. . . . A loud message has to be sent."Indeed, a local expert on the the opium poppy said consuming the plant's seeds is far different than something like the medicinal use of marijuana."The idea of nipping these things in the bud is a good thing," said U of C professor Peter Facchini, who recently received a $650,000 grant for three years of research into the medicinal uses of opium poppy.Opium is a narcotic formed from the resin released when the pods of seeds are broken open. It's used to make pharmaceuticals such as morphine.But it's also an illicit drug, most commonly used to make heroin, a powerful and highly addictive drug. Although there's no mistaking the swaths of opium poppies grown in places like Afghanistan, many Canadians probably wouldn't know if they had the plants growing in their own gardens -- let alone what to do with the seeds from the flowers. Samra did, though."Mr. Samra was using the product from the plants in his tea," his lawyer, David Chow, told the judge."He has been in Canada for 16 years, the last seven in Calgary, but this is something he has used since he was a youngster in India," Chow said. "It is very much a cultural byproduct of his previous environment." Nevertheless, the judge said although it was a unique set of circumstances, the matter was serious. Cummings placed Samra under house arrest for the first four months of the sentence, then under a curfew for the last eight months.He must submit to random searches of his person, vehicle and home, as well as attend counselling for substance abuse, and abstain from alcohol and drugs.Samra also must perform 50 hours of community service "to convey the message that these substances are not tolerated," added Cummings.Samra did not make any comment when given the opportunity by the judge before being sentenced.A second charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking was withdrawn following the guilty plea. The university's Facchini -- who is authorized to study only 100 plants under strict conditions -- agreed that opium use is not uncommon in parts of India, where it is legally grown.He said there are likely others in Calgary doing the same as Samra. "There's no doubt there are (others). You have a culturally very diverse country, and if you look into the popularity, or the use of opium as a recreational drug, culturally in India it's very common.

Gurdev Samra pleading guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants

Samra, 63, was handed a one-year conditional sentence after pleading guilty to growing 1,200 opium poppy plants at his home on Eldorado Clos...

Ting Fai Lau was flown out of Calgary earlier this week.

Ting Fai Lau, 26, was serving a three-year jail sentence for trafficking cocaine in Calgary last year but had his parole accelerated to speed up his deportation. He was flown out of Calgary earlier this week.Lau had criminal ties to Minh Tri Truong, a known figure in the violent world of organized crime who was gunned down in front of his Calgary home June 1, 2007.Lau denied being a gang member to the National Parole Board, but admitted to making and selling drugs and seeking employment from top-ranking gang members. His involvement in organized crime and the city's drug trade stretch back nearly a decade.He also blamed his trafficking on a serious gambling problem he says forced him to sell drugs for gangsters to pay household bills for him and his wife."You have remained in Canada since then, supporting yourself through criminal activity," the National Parole Board stated in a January decision obtained by the Herald."Reports suggest you display an overly blatant attitude of indifference toward your criminal behaviour."Lau came to Canada on a student visa in 1997. It expired in 2001.He was caught trafficking cocaine and sentenced to three years in jail Feb. 26, 2007."Canada won't be a safe haven for criminals," said Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White."We're committed to removing inadmissible people from Canada, committed to public safety and security."Lau's associate Truong was identified in 2003 as the mastermind of a "dial-a-dope" operation spanning Western Canada.He admitted using violence to collect drug debts. Police arrested him and found large quantities of cocaine, heroin, crystal meth and ecstasy tablets.Truong was in the middle of a six-year, six-month sentence for conspiracy and drug trafficking, but he had been free to live at home since being granted parole. His killing remains unsolved.

Ting Fai Lau was flown out of Calgary earlier this week.

Ting Fai Lau, 26, was serving a three-year jail sentence for trafficking cocaine in Calgary last year but had his parole accelerated to spee...

Jackie Tran,Mark Kim,

A known gang member arrested at a funeral home in Calgary was ordered deported almost four years ago, officials say. Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen,...