A Richmond man pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking in cocaine and possession of a restricted firearm in connection with a drug bust that was not as big as police initially believed it to be.
Henry Kal-Geat Chia was arrested along with another man when police raided an auto detailing shop on No. 5 Road in Richmond in March 2012.
At the time, police announced that they had seized 24.7 kilograms of methamphetamines, 1,600 litres of meth precursor, six kilograms of cocaine and a number of guns and ammunition.
Chia was charged with 11 offences but during a brief appearance in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, he pleaded guilty to three of those offences.
He was convicted of trafficking in two kilograms of cocaine, possession of two more kilograms of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a loaded, restricted firearm. The drugs were seized from a vehicle.
The pleas were entered before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Duncan.
Court heard that the Crown and defense are expected to make a joint submission when Chia, who remains in custody, is sentenced Sept.15.
Outside court, the Crown prosecutor explained that the analysis of the drugs seized resulted in a finding that they were not in the amounts originally believed and therefore the other criminal counts against Chia will not be pursued.
The two day trial of Chia’s co-accused, Phu Manh Nguyen, who is charged with a single count of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, is expected to get under way June 11.
