Charges against the only person accused in a rural marijuana grow-op bust in 2009 have been dropped.
RCMP discovered 375 plants in a rental home in Silvertip, on the east side of Highway 2 near the Aldersyde Overpass.
In November 2008, RCMP began investigating the home and in March 2010 executed a warrant.
They found a marijuana grow operation with plants worth $468,750 on the street. No one was inside the home when police raided it.
The police investigations turned up fingerprints and Tan Toi Nguyen was subsequently charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, production of a controlled substance and two counts of theft.
Federal Crown prosecutor Nicole Dumaresque said Nguyen moved to Montreal before the charges were laid and was out of the jurisdiction when a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Police never contacted Nguyen and he may not even know he faced charges in the grow-op bust, she said.
In order to have Nguyen arrested in Montreal the warrant would have to be expanded and he would have to be flown back to Alberta.
“There is no longer a public interest in pursuing these charges,” Dumaresque said.
Due to the limited evidence in the case the RCMP asked that the warrant for Nguyen be vacated and the charges dropped, Dumaresque said.
