Two people accused of running a clandestine meth lab in a Richmond home will no longer be tried this July.
Richmond RCMP arrested Chanel Hsu and Huang-Wei (Anthony) Hsu and four other individuals on Oct. 28, 2020 when raiding three suspected clandestine drug labs.
Chanel faces three charges related to producing meth and possessing chemicals to make methamphetamine at 5406 Maple Road. Huang-Wei, on the other hand, faces 12 charges related to suspected drug labs at 807-6951 Elmbridge Way, 4171 Blundell Road, as well as the Maple Road address for producing meth, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a .22-calibre Ruger semi-automatic rifle without a licence.
Items seized from the alleged drug labs, including bars of silver, luxury items and more than $133,000 in cash, were the subject of a civil forfeiture suit.
The two accused have yet to stand for trial more than two years after their initial arrest. The Richmond News reported last May that a pre-trial conference was set for Chanel, Huang-Wei and their two other co-accused in June 2022.
They were originally scheduled to start their trial later this summer but had applied to adjourn the trial after their previous lawyers left the case. Chanel is currently self-represented while Huang-Wei’s new lawyer, Gloria Ng, argued that she needs more time to prepare for the trial.
The prosecution had opposed the application, arguing that both Chanel and Huang-Wei were “unnecessarily delaying the proceedings.”
The two accused appeared virtually in Richmond Provincial Court on Wednesday afternoon, where judge Glenn Lee “somewhat reluctantly” granted their application and cancelled the July trial dates.
“There have been numerous delays and adjournments on this matter, many of which was because the accused changed lawyer, who then had to get up to speed on the matter,” said Lee, who acknowledged that both accused had “many lawyers” getting on and off the case.
The accused will be tuning virtually into Richmond Provincial Court on Monday, May 8 to schedule a date for a pre-trial conference.
- With files from Maria Rantanen and Kirsten Clarke
