Files under review after allegations against Abbotsford officers over search warrants Federal prosecutors are reviewing a number of Abbotsford drug cases after an investigation uncovered 148 allegations of misconduct by 17 officers in the Fraser Valley department. Most of the allegations relate to the documents officers took to court to obtain search warrants in drug investigations. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner on Wednesday revealed some details of the investigation. "The allegations are serious in nature and primarily relate to issues with the integrity of statements that were provided by police officers to judicial officers pursuant to the authorization process for search warrants," Commissioner Stanley Lowe said. [continues 1117 words]
Prime Minister Takes Part in Celebration of $ 35 Million in Renos to Science World Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday he won't bow to Vancouver civic pressure to relax marijuana laws and subject the drug to a tax. "That won't happen under our government," Harper told reporters at a news conference celebrating $35 mil-lion in renovations to Science World. "We're strongly opposed to the legalization of drugs. Obviously, we're very concerned about the spread of drugs in the country and the damage it is doing to our kids." [continues 378 words]
Convicted Ringleader Ben Fitznar May Have Been on the Lam, but He Had No Intention of Hiding Wolfgang Benedict Fitznar may have been on the run in Mexico as a convicted ringleader in B.C.'s biggest hashish bust, but he was by no means in hiding. The veteran tugboat captain, who'd lived in Bella Coola and Tsawwassen, enjoyed a very public life in the colonial town of Merida for years after he fled Canada in late 2003 to escape a five-year sentence for his role in the global smuggling operation. A total of 14 people were convicted in the seizure of about 12 tonnes of hashish, worth almost $50 million, on Vancouver Island in November 1998. [continues 2846 words]
Atlas Youth Treatment Facility Attempts To Put Young Lives Back Together While There's Still Time To Help TERRACE - The brown two-level wood-frame house looks like any other on Halliwell Avenue, with its rhododendrons in the yard and barbecue on the back deck. Walk upstairs to the second-floor living room and you might also believe that 17-year-old Lorena lying on the couch and 18-year-old Evan playing the guitar are just a couple of ordinary youths leading out typical lives in the province's northwest. [continues 1598 words]
The B.C. Court of Appeal, In Two Rulings, Allowed The Crown To Seize Homes From Owners Who Had Marijuana-Growing Operations Two decisions of the B.C. Court of Appeal Tuesday allowing the Crown to seize homes in which the owners had marijuana-growing operations uphold an important tool in the battle against illicit drug operations, says a lawyer representing the federal Justice Department. Paul Riley said in an interview that Section 16.1 of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which allows for the forfeiture of homes used in drug operations such as marijuana-growing and crystal methamphetamine labs, is "an essential tool . . . . extremely important" to law enforcement agencies. [continues 470 words]
Daughter Of School Board Member Allegedly Carried Drugs On School Bus BLAINE - The principal of Blaine high school faces criminal charges in Whatcom county for allegedly tipping off a school board member that her 16-year-old daughter was under investigation for transporting marijuana on a school bus. The bus travelled between the Washington state communities of Point Roberts and Blaine, passing through Surrey and Delta. Dan Newell, principal since 1990, was charged Tuesday with rendering criminal assistance and obstructing a law enforcement officer, accusations based on clandestine phone conversations with the school board member from a pay phone on Dec. 2, 2003. [continues 418 words]
A Seattle criminal lawyer who specializes in drug cases warns Canadians against smuggling marijuana into Washington state following new U.S. efforts to keep Canadian drug suspects in jail pending trial for fear they will skip bail. "These Canadian kids, they don't realize the American government has gone completely berserk about marijuana," Jeffrey Steinborn said in an interview Tuesday. "They treat you as though you were smuggling chemical/biological weapons or nukes or something. They get that excited about it. Don't come. Don't bring pot down here because you don't realize how extreme the consequences are." [continues 579 words]
12 Allegedly Behind Plan To Distribute 2,000 Kg Of Pot In Indiana B.C.'s Hells Angels are allegedly behind a $20-million US marijuana conspiracy operation in Indiana that has led to federal grand jury indictments against 12 individuals, including two alleged associates of the motorcycle gang in this province who remain fugitives from U.S. justice. Ewan Lilford, a 30-year-old resident of the Lower Mainland, and Patricio Rivera, 31, of Jordan River on southwestern Vancouver Island, were involved in conspiracies to distribute more than 2,000 kilograms of B.C. marijuana through southern Indiana, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Indianapolis. [continues 752 words]
Two Gang Associates Indicted In $20M Indiana Case VANCOUVER - B.C.'s Hells Angels are behind a US$20-million marijuana conspiracy operation in Indiana that has led to federal grand-jury indictments against 12 people, including two gang associates in B.C. who remain fugitives from U.S. justice. The U.S. attorney's office in Indianapolis says Ewan Lilford, a 30-year-old resident of B.C's Lower Mainland, and Patricio Rivera, 31, of Jordan River on southwestern Vancouver Island, were involved in conspiracies to distribute more than 2,000 kilograms of B.C. marijuana through southern Indiana. [continues 283 words]
A Seattle Lawyer Says Canadians Don't Grasp How Extreme The Consequences Are A Seattle criminal lawyer who specializes in drug cases warns Canadians against smuggling marijuana into Washington state following new U.S. efforts to keep Canadian drug suspects in jail pending trial for fear they will skip bail. "These Canadian kids, they don't realize the American government has gone completely berserk about marijuana," Jeffrey Steinborn said in an interview Tuesday. "They treat you as though you were smuggling chemical/biological weapons or nukes or something. They get that excited about it. Don't come. Don't bring pot down here because you don't realize how extreme the consequences are." [continues 578 words]
Crackdown has targeted newer homes SURREY - A multi-agency crackdown on Surrey's marijuana growing operations has resulted in the arrest of 44 people and the seizure of more than 16,000 marijuana plants in raids on 38 residences. And Surrey RCMP Constable Tim Shields said Tuesday that's just the beginning of an enforcement effort involving 20 officers supported by 11 public and private agencies. The crackdown -- which so far has targeted newer homes, most of them occupied by the owners -- is expected to last six months in a major effort to turn up the heat on grow-ops. [continues 379 words]
An Expert In The Field Says The System Is In Need Of A Complete Overhaul A comprehensive addiction-services policy ranging from prevention to treatment and including drugs, alcohol, gambling and cigarettes will be developed by March 1, the province announced Monday. Deputy Premier Joy MacPhail told a Vancouver news conference an 18-member task force of addiction experts from the senior civil service and non-government agencies will draft the policy. The chairman is Dan Reist, executive director of the Association of Substance Abuse Programs and author of a report earlier this year on addiction services for the Kaiser Youth Foundation. [continues 512 words]
Surrey RCMP arrested 22 people and seized a haul of marijuana worth about $2.5 million on the street Friday after busting 11 growing operations in the city. Police executed search warrants in Newton, Cloverdale, South Surrey, Guildford and the City Centre, recovering more than 1,600 pot plants, 230 kilos of marijuana buds and one kilo of hashish. They also recovered about $500,000 in cash during one of the searches. The busts, a joint effort involving the RCMP's Proceeds of Crime Unit, Langley RCMP's Green Team and Drug Unit and the Vancouver Drug Section, were part of an effort by Surrey police to clamp down on marijuana growing operations. Those arrested face charges of producing marijuana and possession for the purposes of trafficking. Criminal Code charges of theft of hydro power will also be laid. [continues 118 words]
