The federal government will take possession of a property in Roberts Creek, after a marijuana cultivator had his home forfeited as part of his sentence on drug charges.
Madam Justice Baird-Ellan approved the forfeiture application in Sechelt provincial court on Monday and also handed a 15-month conditional sentence to Roy Sundstrom, 68. Last July, Sundstrom pleaded guilty to two federal charges: production of a controlled substance and possession of more than 3 kilograms of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. (The same charges against his partner, Irene Cornelius, 70, were stayed.) The grow operation, running out of the home Sundstrom and Cornelius shared in the 2600-block of Lower Road, was described by Sunshine Coast RCMP Cpl. Todd Creed as "very sophisticated, moreso than anything we've seen before on the Coast." When RCMP raided the home on Dec. 5, 2006, they seized 800 marijuana plants and a loaded rifle. A second bunker had the capacity to grow 1,000 more plants than were seized.
Crown prosecutor Shannon Gerrie utilized section 16 of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to apply for the forfeiture. While B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Act has been used in other instances to seize homes used for grow operations, it was not used for Sundstrom's property since the case was a criminal matter, not a civil one.
