DRUG ADDICTS STEAL SECRET CSIS PLANS

Key Spy Agency Document Taken In Smash-And-Grab Car Break-In

A top-secret Canadian Security Intelligence Service document was
stolen from a CSIS officer's car by a trio of drug addicts while the
officer was at a Maple Leafs hockey game in Toronto last month, The
Globe and Mail has learned.

Federal officials familiar with the case say this may be the service's
most serious internal security breach since CSIS was established in
1984. The document, containing information about intelligence
operations planned for next year, is still missing.

The theft appears to have been a random smash-and-grab by a trio of
"druggies" looking for money or credit cards, an official said. The
car window was broken and a briefcase containing the document was
taken from the back seat.

There is no evidence that this was an attempt by foreign spies to
steal secrets, federal sources say.

Nevertheless, a massive search by Toronto police and CSIS has failed
to recover the sensitive document. CSIS hopes it is rotting
irretrievably in a landfill.

Police rounded up the thieves within days of the car break-in, the
sources said. "It was incredibly good police work," one official said.

"These guys [the thieves] were high at the time" of the theft and told
police they had dumped the briefcase and document but were unsure
where, the official said.

Police told the trio there might be a reward for the document. The
three then led investigators to a dumpster where they said they had
ditched the briefcase and the document. But the dumpster's contents
had already been hauled away.

Meanwhile, CSIS has launched an internal investigation into how one of
its officers could have walked away from work with anything as
sensitive as an operational planning document.

The intelligence officer faces possible disciplinary action up to and
including dismissal for what one source said was a "stupid and
reckless" disregard for national security.

CSIS spokesman Phil Gibson confirmed the theft yesterday, but would
not identify the officer who lost the document.

The service believes the document is now "irretrievable," but if
anyone thinks they have found it they should contact the service, Mr.
Gibson said. "We consider the loss of this document a serious matter
of national security."

For security reasons, he would not describe the contents of the
operational planning document, but he said its loss does not
jeopardize public safety, nor does it include the identities of CSIS
sources.

The service depends heavily on informants and goes to elaborate
lengths to protect their identities, including restricting the number
of intelligence officers who have access to source files.

It is unlikely that the names of sources would be included in an
operational planning document and even the targets of operations would
be described in documents only by way of code names, sources say.

One veteran CSIS officer, however, said the document could help
someone to identify the service's hundreds of counterterrorism and
counterintelligence targets.

The officer, who asked not to be identified, said "this is a major and
grave embarrassment. Our working relations with sister agencies all
over the world may be affected. They are still trying to assess the
ramifications of this. But suffice it to say, our friends may not
trust us any more."

The veteran officer said some at CSIS are trying to minimize the
incident by suggesting "everyone makes mistakes." But the officer was
unsympathetic, saying "Somebody is going to take the fall for this.
And, you know, they should."

Mr. Gibson, the CSIS spokesman, said any decision on disciplinary
action must await the completion of the internal investigation.

Other CSIS officials say the service is conducting a damage assessment
to determine the impact in a worse-case situation: what happens if the
document does indeed end up in the hands of foreign spies or terrorists.

Solicitor-General Lawrence MacAulay was informed of the loss and the
service is anticipating that the Security Intelligence Review
Committee, an independent watchdog group, may want to investigate.
But as of yesterday the committee had not been informed of the theft,
chairwoman Paule Gauthier said. She agreed that the theft constituted
a serious breach of national security.

A verbal reminder was issued to CSIS employees earlier this week that
they are to lock up sensitive documents at the office before they go
home at night, a source said.

This is not the first time that sensitive material has gone missing
from CSIS, a source said. A couple of years ago a computer disk
containing the names of a number of targets and details of some
continuing operations was found by a member of the public, who gave it
to a journalist. The journalist in turn gave it back to CSIS. The
incident was never made public.

Two years ago, CSIS overhauled internal security procedures and
instituted spot checks of the handbags and briefcases of employees as
they head home.

'A SERIOUS MATTER'

CSIS spokesman Phil Gibson confirmed the theft of the document yesterday.
He told The Globe and Mail:

The facts as you have them are essentially correct. One of our
employee's car was broken into. The stolen contents included a copy
of an annual operational planning document. We consider the loss of
this document to be a serious matter of national security.

An investigation was launched immediately with the assistance and
co-operation of police departments in the Metro Toronto area. Three
individuals were quickly apprehended thanks to some excellent police
work. . . .

At this point, having assessed the implications, we are satisfied that
no public dissemination of the information contained in the documents
has occurred. If anyone thinks that they have any information to
indicate otherwise we are ready to discuss the matter with them.

However, our assessment of these circumstances leads us to believe
that the material in question is irretrievable.