MINISTER'S AIDE CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING

Suspended Assistant Was Getting Help For 'Some Problems,' Says
Coleman

A ministerial assistant in the provincial government has been charged
with trafficking crystal methamphetamine.

Marshall Smith, who was on personal leave at the time, was arrested
Thursday afternoon near the intersection of Fisgard and Government
streets in downtown Victoria.

Victoria police Const. Rick Anthony said two plainclothes officers
were doing routine surveillance when they spotted a man -- not Smith
- -- they believed to be a drug user.

The man approached a car that had pulled up to the side of the street,
and got inside. The officers followed the vehicle and pulled it over.
Two men were arrested. Smith, alleged to be the driver of the car that
pulled over, is charged with trafficking a controlled substance. Craig
Powell, 20, is charged with possession of a controlled substance --
crystal methamphetamine.

Anthony did not know the amount of the drug found in the car.

The men were "very co-operative, there was no confrontation," Anthony
said.

Officers found a quantity of crystal methamphetamine and a small sum
of money when they searched the car, he said.

Smith's occupation had no bearing on the arrest, Anthony said.

"He's not known to police, he wasn't being targeted by us and we have
no idea who he is. It was just a good piece of police work by two
veteran officers," Anthony said. "It was part of a routine drug
investigation at the street level."

Smith, 31, was an assistant to Gulzar Cheema, who was the minister of
state for immigration and multicultural services until he resigned
earlier this year to run for the Liberals in the federal election.

Smith was nominally reassigned for a time, but has been on paid leave
for about three weeks, government officials confirmed Friday.

Government spokesman Andy Orr said Smith is now suspended without
pay.

"He was getting some help for some problems," Solicitor General Rich
Coleman said. "I can't say much more than that."

Coleman said there is no relation between Smith's case and the search
of the B.C. legislature late last year that was related to a drug
investigation.

"This is about an individual with a personal problem," Coleman said.

The solicitor general said there is no need for the appointment of a
special prosecutor, and that Smith's case will be handled routinely by
the judicial system and Victoria police.

Coleman is routinely notified when cases of interest arise. Police
contacted him when Smith's occupation was discovered.

People in the close-knit legislature community described Smith as a
hip, urbane, high-energy aide who performed his job with keen
political instincts and often partied after work with many of his
colleagues.

He put his name forward for one of the ministerial assistant jobs that
opened up when the Liberals took power in June 2001. He was formally
hired by Premier Gordon Campbell's chief of staff and was appointed by
cabinet order to assist Ted Nebbeling, then minister of state for
community charter. When Nebbeling was removed from cabinet, Smith went
to work for Cheema.

Smith and Powell appeared in Victoria provincial court Friday. They
will be back in court at a later date.