Hemp Grower May Soon Be Released From Nicaragua Jail

Guelph, ON -- A Canadian businessman jailed in Nicaragua since before Christmas for growing hemp may soon be released, says one of his partners. Paul Wylie may be freed within a few days, said Stan Ross, an associate in Vancouver with Hemp-Agro International, which is based in Burlington, Ont.

The company was operating a large-scale hemp farm near Managua when officials swooped down on the 57-hectare plantation on Dec. 23.

They destroyed the crop and charged Wylie, the only company official in Nicaragua at the time.

"Its an absolute outrage," said Ross. "I cant believe this is all happening. It was industrial hemp. Those facts will be proven."

Hemp-Agro, with offices in Burlington, Vancouver and Nicaragua, grows hemp for uses such as clothing.

Ross said he expected a break in the case shortly, with Nicaraguan judges indicating if company experts can prove it was industrial hemp they would drop all charges.

"Everything is going to be, hopefully, resolved soon," Ross said. "Hes been charged with a very serious offence and its not true."

"I will not be going to Nicaragua until this is cleared up," said Ross. "Its total injustice."

Ross is threatening legal action over the destroyed crop.

Wylies mother, who lives in Guelph, declined comment on the arrest.

"Its been really upsetting her," a niece said Thursday.

"Something went askew," said his brother Provam Wylie, who also lives in Guelph.

"I have no answers. I just have a whole lot of questions."

The other partners - including Nicaraguan Oscar Danilo Blandon who is believed to be in the U.S. - were out of the country at the time of the raid.

Company president Grant Sanders, 35, of Ancaster, Ont., and the other Canadians - Ross, Don Malman, Jamie Dean, and Garry Wade - all of Vancouver - face arrest if they set foot in the Central American country.

Sanders has said the charges are political and probably stemmed from his association with Blandon, who is a controversial figure in Nicaragua, with a record for cocaine trafficking in the United States.

Blandon was one of the founders of the Contra guerrilla movement, which waged a eight-year civil war against the previous Sandinista government.

Copyright 1999 The Ottawa Citizen

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