TIPSTER'S CURIOSITY LED POLICE TO DRUG STASH IN PLYWOOD LIFTS,
TRAFFICKING TRIAL TOLD

KAMLOOPS - The curious sight of two men cutting holes in plywood with
chainsaws eventually led RCMP officers to the discovery of hundreds of
kilograms of marijuana, a judge was told on Monday.

The trial is being heard by a judge sitting without a
jury.

Gary Lee Gray is charged with one count of possession of marijuana for
the purpose of trafficking. He was arrested after drug squad officers
discovered more than 370 kilograms of marijuana stashed inside
hollowed-out lifts of plywood while executing search warrants.

Crown prosecutor Glenn Verdurmen told court that reports of unusual
activity at a Monte Creek property included a man calling RCMP after
he saw two men cutting out the centre portions of sheets of plywood.
He also saw the workers refitting an intact sheet on top, and later
reported seeing the lifts on flat deck trailers, headed for Kamloops.

Defence lawyer Fred Kaatz told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross
his client concedes that his company was the registered owner of the
three vehicles identified in the investigation, that he has a
financial interest in the property raided, the quantity of drugs
seized and their street value.

Kaatz told the judge the key issues in the case are credibility of
witnesses and whether Gray had "knowledge and control" of the drugs.
Charges against Reginald Robert Pain were stayed as the trial got underway.

Verdurmen told the judge Pain will be one of the Crown's witnesses in
the case against Gray.