FORFEITURE LAW IS B.C.'S QUIET NEW CRIME-FIGHTER

Millions In Ill-Gotten Gains Have Been Seized

A small provincial office in Victoria has quietly seized millions of
dollars in houses, guns, drugs, vehicles, jewelry and others assets
allegedly bought with crime money or used for unlawful purposes.

The Civil Forfeiture Act, enacted 17 months ago, has proved a powerful
weapon in the war against organized crime. So far, no one has gone to
trial to try to reclaim any property seized by the two-person civil
forfeiture unit.

The proceeds-of-crime legislation entered the spotlight earlier this
month when heavily armed Mounties executed a court order to seize the
Nanaimo Hells Angels clubhouse, including three Harley-Davidson
motorcycles and other contents.

A review of the civil forfeiture files in B.C. Supreme Court indicates
a variety of cases, ranging from substantial bundles of cash seized by
police during routine traffic stops to the seizure of a flashy Hummer
from a man who twice bragged to police that he was making $100,000 a
month as a cocaine dealer in the Victoria area.

Some seized homes were allegedly used for marijuana-growing
operations. In a case in Mission, police observed an accused drug
trafficker delivering Safeway deli trays and buckets of Kentucky Fried
Chicken to four dozen hungry pot "harvesters," who were arrested at
the scene during a police raid.

One of the men making the fast-food delivery, alleged to be a
high-level drug trafficker, had his $1.3-million Burnaby home later
seized, along with more than $126,000 in furnishings selected by an
interior designer -- rugs, a $5,000 chaise longue, a Tuscan sofa,
dining-room suite, custom audio-video cabinet and $7,000 worth of beds.

The interior designer also helped design a new gazebo that featured a
hot tub and masonry work.

Other seized homes were allegedly connected to large-scale money
laundering and investment fraud.

Items seized have included a $73,800 diamond ring, a $13,500 Piaget
watch and other jewelry, but there have also been such mundane items
as cellphones and a BlackBerry allegedly used for drug
trafficking.

One man had $5,000 cash seized from his car in Langley, which
attracted the suspicion of police because it was parked on a dimly lit
street outside an elementary school during the Christmas holidays.

Another case involved a Vancouver officer on routine patrol who ran
the Alberta licence plate of a Nissan heading over the Cambie Street
Bridge two years ago. The police computer showed the car was linked to
a well-known Calgary gang.

The car was pulled over, and police found $240,000 and two kilogram
"bricks" of cocaine in the trunk.

Not surprisingly, no one claimed ownership of the money.

About $5 million worth of seizures are before the courts, awaiting
resolution (the actual property value is $10 million, but many of the
homes have mortgages, which have to be paid out when the home is sold).

To date, more than $2 million in cash and assets obtained through
illegal activities have been turned over to taxpayers since the act
was introduced.