MARIJUANA SEIZURE WORTH $500,000

Victoria police seized $500,000 worth of marijuana from two high-end
condominiums last week, disrupting a scheme where the pot was to be
traded for cocaine in the U.S.

The month-long drug investigation culminated Thursday at 5:30 a.m.
with the arrests of two Victoria men at a condo building in the
700-block of Humboldt Street and a building in the same block on
Courtney Street. Police seized 40 kilograms of marijuana from two
suites, said police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton -- one of the
largest pot busts the department has seen.

It's believed the marijuana was to be used as currency in exchange for
cocaine from the U.S., Hamilton said. He could not say if there have
been arrests across the border in the case.

Police also seized $60,000 in cash, two cars -- a 2005 Mercedes and a
2007 Ford F-150 -- and a 30-foot speedboat.

Investigators are working with the B.C. Civil Forfeiture office to
seize the condo suites or other assets that were purchased with crime
proceeds or used exclusively for criminal activity, Hamilton said.

The block between Douglas and Blanshard streets in the Humboldt Valley
is populated with residential highrises, including the newest
addition, a 20-storey development called the Falls. Police would not
identify the buildings in which the raids were carried out.

Two men, ages 27 and 37, are facing charges of drug trafficking and
possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The Island's Integrated Road Safety Unit also seized a vehicle under
the Civil Forfeiture Act in an unrelated drug arrest in Langford on
Saturday.

Officers pulled over a vehicle and discovered the owner had an
outstanding warrant for his arrest for drug possession in Saanich.
Police found a "substantial" amount of marijuana and the 31-year-old
Langford man was arrested and charged with trafficking.