The B.C. government wants to seize a Langley property where an illicit drug lab exploded in February, leaving one of the owners dead.
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The B.C. government wants to seize a Langley property where an illicit drug lab exploded in February, leaving one of the owners dead.
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The director of civil forfeiture filed a lawsuit on April 16 alleging that Hung Manh Tran and his wife, Thi Ngoan Lam, used the property at 7340-196th St. to operate a cannabis-processing lab without a licence or any authorization.
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“On Feb. 28, 2025, the residence on the property exploded, caught on fire and collapsed,” the statement of claim said.
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Hung Tran and Bryan Tran “exited the residence wearing aprons over their clothes and were transported to hospital with severe burns.”
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When Langley RCMP searched the property the same day, officers found Lam’s remains as well cannabis, drug lab equipment, propane tanks and cannabis packaging materials, the director said.
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“The property is located in a densely populated residential neighbourhood, with two daycare centres in close proximity,” the court document noted. “Multiple residences in the area were evacuated and several residences immediately adjacent to the property sustained extensive damage.”
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The government agency alleges the property, purchased by Hung Tran and Lam in June 2023, “is proceeds and an instrument of unlawful activity.”
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The list of alleged crimes includes possession for the purpose of distributing and selling cannabis contrary to the Cannabis Act, money laundering, criminal negligence causing death, and failure to declare taxable income.
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The two owners have earlier convictions dating to 2004 for production of cannabis and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Hung Tran got a year-long jail term while Lam received a conditional sentence.
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The property, currently assessed at $1,506,000, was purchased by the couple for $1,375,000, government records show.
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No statement of defence has yet been filed. Nor have criminal charges been laid.
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In November 2004, a B.C. Supreme Court judge noted the large scale of the illicit cannabis operation run by the couple “which involved some 560 plants in different stages of growth.”
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“The crop had a market value of between $315,000 and $504,000. It was grown in dangerous circumstances in the crawl space of a house, with use of stolen electricity, and in close proximity to water. Removal of the operation caused about $30,000 worth of damage to the rented premises,” Justice Deborah Satanove said.
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She noted that Lam’s young child was put at risk by living in the grow-op house.
The B.C. government wants to seize a Langley property where an illicit drug lab exploded in February, leaving one of the owners dead. Read More
