POLICE PROBE LINK IN DRUG KILLINGS

The investigation into the disappearance of two men has led police to
a Vernon warehouse they suspect could be linked to as many as five
recent murders.

Police raided a building at 1077 Fairweather Road Wednesday morning,
searching for evidence relating to the disappearance of David Barry
Marnuik and Stanley Wade Polak.

Marnuik, who would now be 47, has not been seen since July 14, 2004
and police suspect he is the victim of foul play.

"Vernon RCMP believe that at the time of his disappearance, Marnuik
may have been picked up in abduction-like fashion by at least two
males in the Vernon area," said Cpl. Red Leibel.

Marnuik is believed to have been grabbed off the street in the Vernon
area in mid-July 2004, but police will not say where the incident may
have occurred.

Police have released composite drawings of the two men they wish to
speak to in relation to Marnuik's disappearance. The first is
described as a 40-year-old white male, six-foot-one, stocky build,
with dark blonde hair worn past the shoulders in a ponytail. The
second is described as a 30-year-old white male, six feet tall,
muscular build, with brown hair shaved close to his head and a goatee.

Polak, 33, went missing from the Falkland area on March 21, and while
police won't go as far as to say they believe foul play is involved,
they do call his disappearance suspicious.

At the time of his disappearance, Polak was wanted on a Canadawide
warrant for the suspension of his statutory release.

"A warrant was issued and still remains in effect today," said
Leibel.

A task force -- comprised of about 20 investigators from the RCMP
Serious Crimes Unit, Criminal Intelligence Section and Vernon RCMP --
continued to comb through the Fairweather Road building Thursday.

While investigators are scouring the warehouse specifically for clues
into the disappearance of the two men, the task force is also looking
into five recent murders.

"They are investigating links. Are they related? Are some related?
It's a very complicated, very detailed investigation," said Leibel.

The body of Jeffrey Drake was discovered about 100 metres down
Adventure Bay Road in August 2004. While police did not release the
cause of death, they would say the 60-year-old Vernon man died as a
result of foul play about a month before his body was discovered.

Thomas Alfred Bryce, 30, died in Victoria hospital as a result of
injuries sustained during a brutal beating at Kin Beach Nov. 9, 2004.

Richard Hewison was found off Westside Road March 26, the victim of a
gunshot. The 43-year-old Vancouver man's Ford pickup truck was located
a few days later near the MacKay reservoir in Vernon, where it had
been set ablaze.

Ronald James Thom, 31, was found shot to death on Commonage Road May
31. His girlfriend -- 38-year-old Belinda Scott -- went missing the
following day. Her body was discovered by campers Aug. 11 in a remote
area 20 kilometres south of Hope. Police would not release the cause
of death, but said she met with foul play around the time of her
disappearance.

One link police have already established is a belief that all seven
individuals were actively involved in the local drug trade.

"There are a number of groups in the city that work in the drug
distribution business. There are a number of groups that derive a lot
of financial gain from the drug trade," said Leibel, who confirmed a
group known as The Greeks are one of the major players in Vernon's
drug trade.

He would not, however, confirm or deny that the gang used the building
as its clubhouse.

"Some (groups) are larger than others, but there isn't one that
controls the drug trade in Vernon. We're too big a city for that."

The warehouse -- which is equipped with security lights and a
surveillance camera and has a residential unit upstairs -- is also
familiar to Leibel, who took part in a drug raid on the building a
couple of years ago.

However, Leibel would not say whether police had been conducting
surveillance on the warehouse or comment on the activities that took
place inside the building, saying "those are answers best heard by a
court of law."

A neighbour of the warehouse, who did not want to be identified, said
there was no activity inside the building during the day. "They came
at night."

Police have set up a telephone line dedicated specifically to the
investigation. Anyone with information on the disappearances or
murders is asked to call 260-7142.