MYSTERY SURROUNDS SUDDEN END TO DRUG CASE

The criminal case against five convicted drug dealers -- including
Victoria-area men once described as drug "kingpins" -- has been
mysteriously dropped in a move that baffles even the men's lawyers.

The Crown will not divulge the reason behind a move that will see the men,
some serving lengthy prison terms, automatically released. The convictions
will be wiped from any criminal records they may have.

"I've never seen anything like it before," said John Green, a defence
lawyer for 20 years, who represented one of the men.

The B.C. Court of Appeal was to have heard the appeals of the men's 1998
convictions this month.

But on Tuesday, the Crown asked the appeal court to set aside the original
convictions and order a new trial. The court consented. Then the Crown said
it would not retry the men, and stayed all the charges.

Clark Purves represented Ricardo Scarpino, a former Langford resident who
was sentenced to 12 years.

"As a citizen, I'd like to know what happened. Obviously, something is not
quite right with the investigation," said Purves.

"It's like my client spent five years in prison for something that never
happened."

Scarpino, Gustavo Gomez, David Mak, Keith Garbutt and Mark Hall were
convicted in Victoria provincial court 1998 on a variety of charges of
conspiracy to traffic and import cocaine.

A cocaine-smuggling ring was busted after a Victoria courier was arrested
carrying 20 kilograms of cocaine at a U.S. train station in August 1996. At
the time, police said it was a significant bust because of the amount of
cocaine.

Through a lengthy and expensive police investigation based largely on tips
from confidential informants and tapped telephone calls, the Vancouver
Island RCMP drug section compiled a case against seven men.

Two men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to three years in prison. The
remaining five went to trial and were convicted by a judge after 65 days of
trial that stretched over a year. They received sentences ranging from
three years to 14 years for Gomez, a 38-year-old man from a wealthy family
in Medellin, Colombia.

The Crown theory was that Gomez gathered the 20 kilograms of cocaine in
California while Scarpino made arrangements to move it to Canada. The
cocaine was transported to Seattle, where it was to be broken down into
smaller amounts and brought into Canada by couriers arranged by Mak, court
heard. The Crown said Hall and Garbutt would then distribute it.

Crown counsel David Frankel said Tuesday that, "We're not prepared to
divulge the reasons why we've made this decision (the stay of proceedings
against the five)."

Frankel would not say anything more than what he had written to defence
lawyers and the court.

The letter says: "On the basis of information that has recently come to the
Crown's attention, which I'm not at liberty to divulge, these conviction
appeals are not opposed. Although in the Crown's view, the trial judge did
not err as alleged by the appellants, it is nonetheless its position that a
new trial is warranted. It is not, however, the Crown's intention to retry
the matter."

Vancouver Island RCMP drug section Cpl. Bill Thomas said the police know
the new information the Crown referred to, but he would not say what it is.

"We're abiding by the (Crown's) decision and that's all we have to say
about the matter," Thomas said.

The defence lawyers would not speculate on what the new information might
be. "Obviously they do not want whatever it is to come to light," said
lawyer Jim Blazina.

Frankel said the stay does not affect the two men who pleaded guilty. Their
convictions stand. Several of the five men had been released on bail
pending the hearing of the appeal.

Scarpino was still in a federal institution on the mainland, and Gomez is
believed to be on day parole.