INFORMANT TO BE PAID $400,000 BY RCMP

Police accidentally revealed his identity to suspects and will now pay
him to testify.

An informant whose identity was accidentally disclosed in court
documents has been paid more than $400,000 by the RCMP.

In return for $330,000, the informant agreed to testify at an upcoming
marijuana case against 12 defendants arrested in Salmon Arm and
Sicamous earlier this year.

The RCMP has also agreed to pay more than $100,000 to the informant to
pay off his debts and store personal items.

The payments to the informant release the RCMP from any responsibility
for the past and future protection arising from their deal. By
accepting the money, the man cannot seek protection in the Witness
Protection Program.

The 12 accused, scheduled to go to trial in November, were charged
with various trafficking charges after a joint RCMP and American drug
enforcement investigation into smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border.

The alleged ring is believed to have ferried millions of dollars worth
of potent B.C. bud over the U.S. border from July 1998 to August 1999.

RCMP Corporal Grant Learned said under the legal terms of the
agreement, details cannot be released.

The witness' identity was disclosed in court and police documents
released to defence attorneys.

"The police are obligated to give all this information to the
defence," Learned said Tuesday. "There are provisions where the case
deals with human sources that any information may be vetted, but in
this particular instance, there was an accidental disclosure."

The identity of the source could easily be deduced by one of the
accused via a description released by police.

CBC radio reported Tuesday that the informant is a known cocaine
dealer.

Knowing that the source's identity is compromised, Learned said police
had to deal with any hardships that could be created by the mistake.