Pubdate: Tue, 21 Dec 1999
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 1999 The Province
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Author: Mary Vallis

SUSPECTED POT SMUGGLER HAS A LOT TO LOSE

A Surrey man could lose his two-seater plane, Harley-Davidson motorcycle,
Porsche, wine collection and extravagant corner-lot home after being named
a suspect in a cross-border drug-smuggling operation.

After a month-long investigation, Glen Cuthbert Finch, 52, was charged with
possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and exportation of
marijuana.

Finch was buying pot and using his home-made plane to fly it to the western
U.S., said Surrey RCMP Cpl. Janice Armstrong.

Police say he was arrested Nov. 5 at a rented airplane hangar in Langley,
where they seized 30 one-pound bags of marijuana.

"He was putting drugs from a pickup truck into his Porsche," Armstrong said.

Officers say they have seized $250,000 worth of contents from Finch's
lavish south Surrey home, including a Jeep, speedboats and $50,000 in wine
from an elaborate basement cellar. $50,000 in U.S. cash has also been
seized. They estimate Finch's home and its contents are worth $1 million.

Police also expect to seize an aircraft hangar Finch owns in Abbotsford and
its contents, which have an estimated value of $500,000, along with funds
associated with U.S. and Canadian bank accounts.

Finch could lose all those assets if the courts determine he came by the
loot using drug money.

A neighbour said Finch was rarely home and spent most of his time at a
remote cabin. The Surrey home is outfitted with expensive furniture and
big-screen TVs, and it includes two bedrooms for one young girl, said the
neighbour, who asked not to be named.

A joint-force investigation involved the Surrey and Langley RCMP drug
sections, the RCMP's integrated proceeds of crime section, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Customs Service.

Finch is on bail and is scheduled to appear in Surrey provincial court Dec.
29.

He declined comment last night.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D