Two years ago, conservations officers went to an Abbotsford property looking for a lion and a cougar.

What they found instead was a large-scale illicit cannabis growing operation and significant amounts of fentanyl.

Now the B.C. government wants the rural property forfeited as a proceed of crime and instrument of illegal activity.

A civil forfeiture claim was filed last week against Dinh Van Bui, who bought the eight-acre property at 7467 Walters St. in 2013 for $565,000.

But the real target of the 2023 investigation appears to be the former owner of the land — animal trainer Joseph “Gerry” Therrien — as well as his son, Luc Therrien.

The elder Therrien has operated Action Animals for years, which says on its website that it provides “exotic and indigenous animals for the film and ent

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