Driving a van full of pot plants leads to a fine

KAMLOOPS – A two-year court case for a man caught driving a van full of marijuana plants is over once he pays the $2,000 fine handed to him in Kamloops Provincial Court Monday morning.

Corey Joseph Eld, 36, was arrested in November 2012 after a routine stop near Barriere revealed he was transporting 73 marijuana plants.

Officers arrested him after smelling fresh green marijuana and under suspicion he was hiding the plants under a large tarp in the back of his vehicle. Provincial Court Judge Christopher Cleaveley found Eld guilty of possessing a controlled substance last month. On Monday morning, Cleaveley sentenced him to pay a $2,000 fine for transporting the marijuana. 

During his court case, Eld's lawyer argued officers did not have the right to arrest him without asking if he had a license to transport marijuana. 

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