Nova ScotiaA seafood broker who operated an illegal marijuana grow-op busted by Nova Scotia RCMP in 2021 during a large drug investigation is asserting that more than $133,000 found in a safe in his mother’s vehicle is actually money from his legitimate business.Federal prosecutor seeking forfeiture of cash following convictions for cannabis offencesListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Christian Strickland is shown on Sept. 12, 2025, at provincial court in Dartmouth, N.S. (Craig Paisley/CBC)A seafood broker who operated an illegal marijuana grow-op busted by Nova Scotia RCMP in 2021 during a large drug investigation is asserting that more than $133,000 found in a safe in his mother’s vehicle is actually money from his legitimate business.A federal prosecutor is asking a provincial court judge in Dartmouth, N.S., to order the cash be forfeited as proceeds of crime or “offence-related property” after Christian Strickland, 40, was found guilty of cannabis and fraud crimes, and handed an 18-month conditional sentence.The probe involving the grow-op in Popes Harbour on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore was an offshoot of a major investigation into money laundering and cocaine trafficking in the Halifax area, and whose chief target, Gary (Boo) Boudreau, 49, was convicted earlier this year.Strickland has been a lobster exporter for seven years, the court heard at his sentencing hearing this summer. He told CBC in September that he “did millions of dollars in lobster,” had the bank records to prove it, and believed the cash seized by police will be returned to him.Cash seized from the vehicle of Christian Strickland’s mother on Jan. 6, 2021, is shown in a court exhibit. (Court exhibit)The grow-op was in a startup phase, the evidence has suggested, and Strickland’s defence lawyer, Pat MacEwen, said this week in court the police have offered no proof it made a “nickel” before it was shut down.“Clearly, there are still legitimate business people in this province who do operate in cash, who have bank accounts, who have companies,” MacEwen said in an interview.“I suspect that the evidence will show that at the end of the day that’s the situation we’re dealing with here.” Strickland was not accused of cocaine trafficking and he was not jointly charged with Boudreau. But he was convicted of cannabis offences, after Judge Brad Sarson ruled this spring he had significant control over an 81-plant grow-op located near the lobster pound he operated in Popes Harbour. Strickland was also convicted of fraud and public mischief for falsely claiming to his insurance company that his BMW, which had engine problems, had been vandalized. The court found Strickland had damaged the vehicle himself, or got someone to do it.WiretapsEvidence at trial linking Strickland to the grow-op relied heavily on wiretaps authorized as part of the larger investigation. In one, Strickland could be heard discussing with Boudreau equipment for the grow-op, including lights and heat pumps.Last month, the lead investigator in the broader case, RCMP Sgt. Johnathan Brown, testified there were also “numerous calls” involving Strickland detailing both legal and illegal sales of lobster and lucrative juvenile eels, although he didn’t believe any fisheries charges were laid.A spokesperson for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said this week there are currently no Fisheries Act charges against Strickland.Hours after the grow-op was busted, on Jan. 6, 2021, police intercepted a phone call between Strickland’s mother and sister. Through his sister, Strickland asked that his mother stop by his apartment in Bedford, N.S., and pick up the “same thing as last time.”A police surveillance team was dispatched, and the mother was pulled over after she left the apartment. On the back seat of the Ford Escape was a suitcase. Inside that suitcase was a second suitcase, which contained a small safe.Inside the safe was roughly $133,000. One officer testified the mother told him the money was from a house sale.Federal prosecutor Len MacKay called four police witnesses during the forfeiture hearing, which continues next month when the defence will decide what evidence it might submit.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORRichard Cuthbertson is a journalist with CBC Nova Scotia. He can be reached at richard.cuthbertson@cbc.ca.
Seafood broker busted for grow-op fights forfeiture of $133K found in moms SUV
