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In the meantime, the shop remains in business, with Nguyen “adamant about his innocence,” said his lawyer Tony Lagemaat.

Details of the Vancouver Police investigation and city inspector’s dealings with Nguyen and the Thuong Dang Danh Tea Shop are outlined in a 223-page package of city and police documents obtained through a Freedom of Information request. In 2014, Vancouver police officers developed an intelligence file on the shop “as a possible fencing operation after observing a well-known, prolific property crime offender frequenting the store,” the police report says, adding that in February 2016, detectives received “reliable information” about the purchasing of “stolen property from local drug addicts on the Kingsway strip.”

Between February and May of last year, an officer conducted six undercover scenarios, trying to sell purportedly stolen property to Nguyen, with details of those encounters outlined in police notes.

Postmedia attempted to speak to Nguyen and was referred to his lawyer, Lagemaat, who said that for Nguyen, who he described as a hard-working shop-owner who doesn’t speak English, the business licence represents a “much bigger concern” than the criminal charges.

“The business license is his livelihood,” Lagemaat said. “I’ve got all his accounting records and it’s a thriving, legitimate business.

“It is my feeling that the city is attempting to revoke his business licence based on criminal allegations that have not been proven in a court of law. It seems unduly harsh what they’re doing to him, when you look at all these dispensaries on every corner that they’re essentially turning a blind eye to.”

Vancouver’s municipal licensing department doesn’t always make headlines, but it has been in the news lately, often connected to the city’s pioneering approach to regulating retail cannabis. In recent weeks, Postmedia has reported on issues highlighting challenges on that front, including confusion following a data breach and a growing pile of unpaid bylaw tickets.

Nguyen is set to stand trial in February on the criminal charges.

Meanwhile, with no date set for the licence hearing, the shopkeeper continues to run his tea shop.

dfumano@postmedia.com

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