DRUG CASE MAY BE FATALLY FLAWED

Legality Of Search That Resulted In Seizure Of 2 Tons Of Cocaine On
Canadian Boat Questioned

A federal judge ordered a man held as a material witness yesterday in the
investigation of a Canadian fishing boat on which more than 2 tons of
cocaine were discovered.

Doubts have been raised, however, whether there will ever be a criminal
drug case to which he can be a witness.

The man was one of five men who were aboard the Western Wind. The other
four, all of whom are Canadian citizens, were in the custody of immigration
officials yesterday.

Federal prosecutors will announce their decision on criminal charges
tomorrow. But one federal law enforcement source said yesterday the drug
case may be fatally flawed.

The cocaine seizure is likely the largest ever in Washington state and on
the U.S.-Canada border from Washington to Minnesota. The cocaine has been
sent to a federal laboratory, where most of it will be destroyed.

The U.S. Coast Guard seized the boat and took the men into custody
Wednesday, acting on a tip from Canadian authorities. But the source said
questions have been raised about the legality of the search and seizure.

"There are some issues," said the source, who asked not to be named.
"There's a question of whether the vessel was in U.S. waters. And there's a
question of whether the vessel had the intent to touch U.S." soil.

"There may not be enough there to have a chargeable offense."

U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer and Coast Guard officials declined to comment
on the case.

The Coast Guard cannot always board and seize suspicious foreign boats even
if they are in U.S. waters. Foreign vessels going from one foreign port to
another foreign port are considered to be in "innocent passage" in U.S. waters.

The Coast Guard would have to meet one of several exceptions to be able to
board such a vessel, said Lt. Jason Hamilton of the Coast Guard's legal
office in Seattle.

If the vessel bore no flag of its nation, it would be considered stateless
and could be boarded, he said. The Coast Guard also could get permission
from the nation to which the vessel is flagged in order to board it.

Hamilton did not comment directly on the Western Wind. The Coast Guard has
not said where the fishing trawler was when it was boarded or where it was
headed.

Federal prosecutors typically proceed quickly with some type of charges and
a court hearing after an arrest. Indeed, those held in federal custody must
have a hearing within 48 hours.

Prosecutors have avoided that in this case by turning the men over to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Four of the men remained in INS custody yesterday. They are Sean Cochrane,
31; John Stirling, 46; Kenneth Hubley, 41; and Beau Naiirn, 18, said Irene
Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the INS in Seattle. She would not identify the
fifth defendant.

All are Canadians and are being held on suspicion of illegally entering the
United States. They could have a hearing in a week or two, facing possible
deportation to Canada.

Press reports in British Columbia list Philip John Stirling as the Western
Wind's owner.

He pleaded guilty in 1990 to several cocaine conspiracy-related charges and
was sentenced to five years in prison, according to The Vancouver Sun.

Neither Mortensen nor Lawrence Lincoln, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's
Office, could say whether John Stirling and Philip John Stirling are the
same person.

The fifth man is a Canadian Indian who had the right to freely cross the
border. He was released from INS custody.

He was ordered held as a material witness yesterday.

Lincoln said the documents in that case are sealed.