According to court documents, police allege drug trafficking and money laundering activity by a criminal operation dated back to April 2019.
One of the twin brothers accused of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine in what Saskatoon police called a “sophisticated organized crime operation” will spend his birthday on remand.
Jaeho (Jay) Lee, 34, appeared Wednesday in Saskatoon provincial court, where his case was adjourned and the defence continued work on a release plan. Court records identify his brother Jae Sung Lee, 34, and Jessica Tran, 33, as his co-accused.
According to court records, police allege they were involved in the activities of a criminal organization to sell cocaine and meth, as well as money laundering, as back as far as April 2019.
Police said earlier this week that they started to investigate after learning of the “large-scale operation.”
On Jan. 5, police searched four homes, seized property and arrested them.
The seized property included a house with an estimated value of $700,000, located in the 500 block of Hamm Crescent. An Information Services Corporation title search shows the house where Jae Sung Lee lived is owned by a Jason Lee. ISC records show the house at 514 Hamm Crescent is also owned by a Jason Lee.
Police said they also seized approximately $79,000 in cash, jewelry, financial documents, paraphernalia consistent with drug trafficking, and three vehicles: a Mercedes-Benz CLA250, an Acura ILX and a Nissan Rogue.
Tran and one of the men were arrested at a home in the 900 block of Kristjanson Road. The other man was arrested at a business in the 400 block of Second Avenue South that “is otherwise unrelated to the criminal charges,” police said.
According to archived images, a Dr. Jason Lee worked out of a dental office in the 400 block of Second Avenue South; his image no longer appears on the business’s website. No one named Jae Sung or Jason Lee appears in any searches of the College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan’s online directory which has listings of dentists in good standing.
Parole Board of Canada documents dated July 24, 2017 say the board imposed special conditions on Jaeho Lee prior to his statutory release, including prohibitions on possessing and using illicit drugs and associating with people he knows or believes are involved in crime, gangs or “the drug subculture.”
The board said Jaeho, serving a sentence of four years and nine months, scored high on a metric used to predict potential to reoffend. It also noted his history of drug dealing, and non-compliance with release conditions, including suspensions and revocations.
“File information speaks to a ‘major gambling problem,’ financial stress and greed as contributing factors of your past and current offending … you appeared to have quickly returned to criminal behaviour when you were returned to the community following an earlier sentence, with your file noting your ‘refined trafficking skills,’ ” the parole board said.
His statutory release date was Aug. 9, 2017. Warrants for him were issued in October and his release was suspended. In a Jan. 16, 2018 decision, the board imposed additional conditions for a future statutory release.
The decision said he reported being raised in a strict environment by parents who had high expectations and lacked affection, and his punishment was beatings two to three times a week.
Jaeho Lee is due back in provincial court on Jan. 16. He remains in custody.
Jae Sung Lee and Tran, who are not in custody, are due back in court on Feb. 7.
— With StarPhoenix files from Bre McAdam
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