CHARGES EXPECTED SOON IN DRUG CASE

Judge Holds Off On Request To Reveal Warrant Details

VANCOUVER -- Charges may soon be laid in connection with a 20-month
drug investigation, a now-infamous case which sparked a spinoff
breach-of-trust probe that resulted in raids at the British Columbia
legislature.

Federal prosecutor Johannes Van Iperen said in court Wednesday that
another federal lawyer is beginning the process of approving charges
in the drug case.

Nine people were arrested in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria in early
December in connection with the case, but they were released without
charges.

Van Iperen did not say in court when the charges might be
laid.

B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm heard
applications from media lawyers Wednesday to have search warrants made
public in the drug and legislature cases.

Nine search warrants were executed in Victoria and the Lower Mainland
Dec. 28, which resulted in the homes and offices of several prominent
provincial and federal Liberals being visited.

Van Iperen said in court that five search warrants executed Dec. 28
were part of the drug case. The locations of the warrants and the
people they targeted remained sealed by the courts.

However, Van Iperen said Wednesday that, although the RCMP is still
investigating the drug case, it does not feel it will jeopardize the
investigation to make the search warrant-related information public.
He said he was willing to release edited versions that protect the
names of informants and any wiretap information.

Although it is not clear who is named in the warrants, the lawyers for
two ministerial assistants whose legislature offices were searched
Dec. 28 indicated they would make arguments in court next week before
any information is released. They also backed the provincial
prosecutor, who is handling the spinoff breach-of-trust case, in his
efforts to keep the other warrants sealed.

Special prosecutor Bill Berardino is opposed to the other search
warrants being released to protect the integrity of the ongoing police
investigation into the breach-of-trust case.

He said "we are not even close" to the police investigation being
completed.

"It would be irresponsible for me to take any other position in the
face of an ongoing investigation," he said.

But media lawyer Barry Gibson said a recent Court of Appeal ruling
contradicts Berardino's argument to keep the warrants sealed to
protect the privacy of those named in them.

He said Berardino's other argument, to protect the integrity of the
police investigation, can't apply to every piece of information in the
warrants.

"Even if there is something in that material that could prejudice the
investigation . . . it seems inconceivable that everything in there
could prejudice the investigation," Gibson said.

The estimated 30 boxes of documents taken from the legislature during
the raids have remained locked up in the courthouse so officials could
work out a protocol of how to look at them without violating cabinet
privilege.

"We have worked and have obtained a protocol to address the cabinet
privilege issues," Berardino said.

George Copley, the lawyer representing the provincial government, said
the boxes will be opened today for the first time, and he hopes all
the materials will be looked at over the next three to four days.

Documents not covered by cabinet privilege will be sent to the RCMP,
who will begin reviewing them immediately.

The documents considered privileged will go through a longer vetting
process.

Dohm adjourned the hearing until Jan. 22, when he will receive a
report on the state of the new protocol and the police review of
documents. He is also expected to rule that day on how much
information the media can access from the drug warrants.

Van Iperen told Dohm that on Jan. 9 and Jan. 12 he was contacted by
Chris Considine, the lawyer for fired ministerial assistant David
Basi, who was concerned that sealed information was being leaked to
the media. Van Iperen said he passed Considine's concerns to the RCMP.