LENGTHY DRUG PROBE PRECEDED B.C. OFFICE RAIDS

Provincial Legislature: Special Prosecutor Assigned To Case

VANCOUVER - One of the search warrants executed on Sunday in the offices of
two high-profile Cabinet ministers at the B.C. legislature was part of a
lengthy RCMP drug investigation, CanWest News Service has learned.

Police have said evidence uncovered during a 20-month drug and organized
crime investigation led to a spinoff probe into commercial crime, which
resulted in a series of search warrants served on the weekend, including
several against key insiders with the federal and provincial Liberal parties.

But sources say that at least one -- and potentially more -- of the seven
search warrants executed on Sunday was also directly connected to the drug
probe. That includes either the warrant to search the legislature office of
Dave Basi, ministerial assistant to B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins, or
the warrant to search the office of Bob Virk, Transportation Minister
Judith Reid's ministerial assistant.

Mr. Basi was fired from his job on Monday. Mr. Virk was suspended with pay.
No charges have been laid in either case.

A special prosecutor, William Berardino, has been assigned to the
legislature case. Robert Prior, director of federal prosecutions for B.C.,
is handling the drug case, which the RCMP say was launched in the spring of
2002 into the involvement of organized crime in the sale of B.C. marijuana
in the U.S. in exchange for cocaine, which was then sold in Canada.

Both Mr. Berardino and Mr. Prior will have standing in court on Friday when
media outlets argue publication bans on the search warrants should be
overtu rned.

Mr. Prior did not return phone calls yesterday. No one from the provincial
government would comment on the search warrants.

Gordon Campbell, the Premier, maintained on Monday that no government
decisions were influenced or compromised in any way by the actions of Mr.
Basi or Mr. Virk. No elected officials have been implicated in the scandal.

Police have released few details about the two investigations, and will not
explain how the worlds of politics, drugs and organized crime allegedly
intersected.

Sergeant John Ward, an RCMP spokesman, would not comment yesterday on the
information about one of the two searches at the legislature being linked
directly to drugs. He said the publication bans that apply to the warrants
prohibit him from saying anything.

A statement issued by the RCMP on Monday acknowledged that the evidence
uncovered in the legislature case "combined with information directly
linked to the organized crime/drug investigation, resulted in police
securing warrants to search offices of non-elected staff members at the BC
Legislature" and other locations.

The seven warrants issued on Sunday include the two at the legislature, the
home offices of two people in the Lower Mainland, the offices of a private
company doing business in Victoria and Vancouver, and Mr. Basi's home.

Mr. Basi, a prominent organizer for the provincial and federal Liberal
parties and a well-known supporter of Paul Martin, the Prime Minister,
issued a statement on Monday saying he had done nothing wrong.

Police also searched the Victoria and Vancouver offices of Pilothouse
Public Affairs Group. One of the lobbying firm's two directors is Erik
Bornman, communications director for the B.C. chapter of the federal
Liberals and a longtime party activist.

Police also visited the Port Moody home office of Mark Marissen, the
husband of B.C.'s Deputy Premier, Christy Clark. Mr. Marissen is a
long-time Martin supporter and is the Prime Minister's most powerful
non-elected ally in B.C.

Mr. Bornman said he needed more information before commenting. Mr. Marissen
said he was "an innocent recipient" of documents police considered
evidence, and co-operated with authorities by handing them over.

Twenty months after the start of the joint RCMP-Victoria police
drug/organized crime investigation, nine people were recently arrested in
Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria but released without charges. Sgt. Ward
denied that was a sign the case was weak or lacked any clear suspects.

"I anticipate charges will be laid. When is another question," he said.
"When you deal with organized crime and the way it is spread out, our
investigations are lengthy, complex and we need to take the time that's
required to conduct them."

Sgt. Ward would not comment directly on Mr. Prior's appointment to the drug
case. But he said that, generally speaking, a prosecutor could be appointed
to a file before charges are laid "if we were ready to lay charges, or our
investigation has got to the point where we want to have the Crown look at
our case to see if anything needs shoring up."