A B.C. Supreme Court Justice has sentenced five Lower Mainland men to 15 months in jail followed by 18 months probation after they were found tending a massive marijuana grow operation near Williams Lake.
See Seng Huang, 48, Wai Hung Kwan, 52, Rui Shi Mo, 48, Bing Biao Tam, 55, and Guo Xin Zhen, 48, were all arrested in May 2010 when RCMP swooped in on an operation at 195 Jackpine Road where 8,970 plants, worth about $3.3 million were uncovered.
All five were born in China and all but Zhen are now Canadian citizens.
Defence counsels had argued for conditional sentences, where the five would serve their terms at home, but Justice Patrice Abrioux found jail time more appropriate in part because of the size of the operation and because no guilty pleas were entered.
The five were sentenced Oct. 30 and reasons for sentencing were posted online this week.
