[420 Girl]

Undercover police unfairly used emotion-charged stories about their "terminally ill" parents to entrap minor players during Operation Lime, says a New Plymouth defence lawyer.

Police swooped on 35 gardening businesses across the country in April.

The two-year operation resulted in 250 arrests, more than 700 charges and busted more than 100 commercial cannabis growing operations.

One of those arrested was New Plymouth shop assistant Reuben Wade, 25, who had been unfairly taken in by the undercover female detective who had gone into Guru Gardener, his counsel, Paul Keegan, said yesterday.

The police transcripts of the conversation between the two reveal that the officer had told Wade her mother was terminally ill with cancer and asked for help to grow cannabis plants to help alleviate her pain.

"Police have set him up," Mr Keegan said.

"It was a terrible thing to go into a shop and use a story like that. It is entrapment. It's effectively harassment by the police.

"They have entrapped him into having the knowledge that it will be used for cultivation. It's quite appalling really."

It was not until nine months after the undercover operation that Wade was arrested and charged with two counts of supplying drug-related equipment after the sale to the undercover officer of a book on how to grow cannabis, and some fertiliser.

Yet the book Wade sold could easily be purchased elsewhere – as could the fertiliser, Mr Keegan said.

Results from a search by the Taranaki Daily News of the Whitcoulls' website comes up with the same book Wade sold to the police officer along with 179 other marijuana-related titles.

"It really makes a mockery of the law. It is clear that some reform is needed," Mr Keegan said.

Last week in the New Plymouth District Court, Wade pleaded guilty to the two indictable charges.

He will be sentenced on August 16 when Mr Keegan said he would make strong comments in mitigation.

A national police spokesman said yesterday that police did not comment on any "operational matters involved in covert or undercover operations".

However, he said the offenders apprehended during Operation Lime not only sold literature on how to grow marijuana, but also went on to provide detailed oral advice and sold equipment and materials to assist in the growing of cannabis.

The sale of books on marijuana was a matter for the Department of Internal Affairs which had responsibility for classification of publications, police said.

VERBATIM

At 11am on July 15, 2009, a female undercover police officer enters Guru Gardener on Devon St, New Plymouth.

Shop assistant Reuben Wade greets her: "Hey, how are you? Do you need a hand?"

"Yea," the detective says, who calls herself Kay. "I'm looking at growing a couple of plants for my mother because she is terminally ill. I've heard it is really good for pain relief," she says.

"Yea," Wade replies.

"But I don't know anything so I have to pretty much start from scratch."

The two go on to discuss the book, called Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Taranaki Daily News
Author: LYN HUMPHREYS
Contact: Taranaki Daily News
Copyright: 2010 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
Website: Police used 'sob story' in sting

* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article


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