MAN GIVEN SECOND HEARING IN BID TO RECOVER $156,800 US SEIZED BY POLICE

A man seeking the return of $156,800 US seized by police will get another
chance to argue his case before a judge.

Glen Anthony Struss has been trying since 2005 to get back the money,
which was found in a backpack in a pickup truck near the Canada-U.S.
border.

At the original provincial court hearing, the Crown's theory was that
Struss's possession of the funds was unlawful because police, acting
on a telephone tip, found him in an area known as a cross-border
smuggling route.

Police said Struss had been seen earlier trespassing on private
property, heading south toward the border, then reappearing later with
the backpack.

Police alleged the cash was from the sale of marijuana in the U.S. The
backpack and money smelled of marijuana.

The provincial court judge sided with police, resulting in the cash
being forfeited to the Crown. The judge reached her conclusion,
without conducting a voir dire, that there was no breach of Struss's
rights as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when two
police officers searched his belongings.

Struss appealed. This week, B.C. Supreme Justice Paul Williamson sent
the matter back for a new hearing. He found the trial judge erred by
ruling that an RCMP officer was competent to give evidence on banking
practices -- evidence relied upon by the judge in making her decision.