Two Toronto area men have been sentenced to six months less one day in jail for their role in a massive grow-op in Kingsville.
Yan Qing Zhao, 55, and Ming Zheng, 35, had earlier pleaded guilty to production of a controlled substance.
In August 2016, the OPP raided a greenhouse on County Rd. 34 in Ruthven and found 1,700 mature marijuana plants valued at $1.7-million.
The court heard the men were gardeners and not the masterminds of the grow-op.
There was also a fake Health Canada licence posted on the greenhouse.
"I think it is a fair and just sentence," says Zheng's lawyer Bobby Russon. "Justice Pomerance certainly knows what she is doing given the collateral immigration consequences for them she was merciful and fair."
If they had been sentenced to six months, they would have lost their right to appeal a deportation order, if an order was issued.
"It is not necessarily true that these gentlemen will be deported or anyone will attempt to have them deported but if someone does do that now, they will have a right to appeal which is important because they both have young families, one has a young family and one has an older family," says Russon.
Before being sentenced, both men said they were sorry and asked for leniency.
The crown was seeking a sentence of 15 to 18 months in jail.