'PRINCE OF POT' BUSTED

Police Raid Seed Shop Of Activist Marc Emery

VANCOUVER - Vancouver police raided a marijuana-seed business run by
the leader of B.C.'s Marijuana party under a request from the U.S.
government Friday, while angry protesters outside chanted
anti-American slogans.

Marc Emery, 47, who was referred to as the "Prince of Pot" on the
search warrant, was arrested in Halifax the same day. He is charged in
the U.S. with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to
distribute marijuana seeds, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

Gregory Keith Williams, 50, and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek, 34, who are
alleged to be Emery's business partners, were also arrested.

Chris Bennett, manager of Vancouver-based Pot-TV, was working in
Emery's Vancouver store Friday morning when two undercover Vancouver
police officers walked in.

"I was on the phone and these guys who looked like hippies walked in
and told me to hang the phone up," Bennett said.

Bennett was asked to leave the premises as police began their search
and seizure.

"They just sent me out," he said. "They didn't even search my body."

The search warrant included all records pertaining to the seed-selling
business, Marc Emery Direct, including client lists, invoices and
employee records from as a far back as September 1995.

Police took down storefront signs and covered the windows with paper,
while pro-marijuana protesters chanted "Go Home U.S.A., Go Home
U.S.A." and banged on drums on the sidewalk.

"This is a place where people could pull out a joint and not have to
fear being reported to the police, and that was OK with Canadians,"
said marijuana activist David Malmo-Levine.

"It's really an attack on our sovereignty."

The search was requested by the U.S. government through the Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, Canadian legislation that was
enacted in 1985.

U.S. authorities say the search warrant and arrests are the result of
an 18-month investigation into Emery's international seed-selling
business. Emery has been selling seeds by phone, mail or Internet
since 1994.