POLICE PROMISE MORE CLUB STINGS

More undercover operations can be expected in downtown bars following a
recent sting that led to several drug arrests, Victoria police Sgt. Jim
Simpson says.

"We've found that when we go there in uniforms -- in this modern age where
every doorman has a headset on -- of course you never see anything,"
Simpson said. "But these [plainclothes] people sat in there and made some
unbelievable observations that in my whole year of trolling around in the
bar I never saw because I'd work in a uniform."

Undercover officers had no problem buying cocaine and ecstasy at five
downtown Victoria clubs in the sting. Police rounded up dealers last Friday
afternoon after an 11-day undercover operation resulted in warrants for the
arrests of 16 people, including one bar employee, for trafficking in
controlled substances.

Some downtown clubs also can expect charges under the Liquor Control and
Licensing Act. Police saw liquor infractions ranging from over-service and
overcrowding to staff openly drinking with patrons, Simpson said. They also
saw patrons doing lines of cocaine inside clubs.

Simpson met with a Liquor Control and Licensing Branch authority Tuesday
and said police files will now be reviewed with an eye to laying charges
under the liquor Control and Licensing Act. Five establishments are likely
to be charged, he said.

Strathcona Hotel security manager Ari Bolden complained his operations were
being tarred with the same brush as other clubs. Although undercover
operators bought ecstasy at Legends in the Strathcona, Simpson said his
staff does not condone drug use or tolerate Liquor Act infractions. "You
could basically go into any bar in the city and buy dope. They're as clean
as it gets," Simpson said of the Strathcona.

Al Danyleyko, owner of Deep Nightclub and Lounge in Market Square,
criticized the province for not having enough liquor-enforcement officers
to keep some clubs in line. His club wasn't targeted by police in the
sting, but Danyleyko said relatively light fines for overcrowding or
over-serving encourage some club owners to take a chance. "Basically, it's
about $100 per person if you're over [capacity]."