CRYSTAL METH BUST CASE FALLS APART

The first two of five men prosecuted for running a large-scale crystal meth
lab busted on Postill Drive in 2002 have all but escaped criminal
prosecution for their roles in the business.

The bust was the culmination of a 16-month investigation with the combined
forces from the Southeast District drug section and Vancouver and Calgary
police departments and led to dozens of arrests including 30 in Calgary,
and six people in the Lower Mainland.

Locally, Chet V. Keller, Wesley V. Crandall, Russell J. Penner, David
Tarasenko and John Maryancik all faced charges as a result of the
investigation.

It was also Kelowna's introduction to a scourge of the dangerous drug which
hit its peak this summer.

But the heroics fell apart in a Kelowna courtroom Monday morning when
Tarasenko and Penner pled guilty to far lesser charges.

Both men were alleged to be big players in the group, the kind of
high-level organized crime figures who seem to elude justice.

Tarasenko pled guilty to Waste Management Act charges for improperly
storing and disposing of the harsh chemicals used to make the drug.

He was given a $30,000 fine, $23,500 of which was earmarked directly for
the City of Kelowna.

Penner pled guilty to simple possession of another designer drug, gamma
hydroxybutyrate or GHB and was handed a $1,000 fine.

However, Penner also agreed to forfeit $85,000 in cash that was seized from
him home as proceeds of crime.

The case against all five took a serious blow when John Maryancik was
killed near Salmon Arm by an RCMP officer investigating a traffic offence.

Sources tell the Capital News that Maryancik was an alleged principle of
the Postill Road meth lab but his sudden absence from prosecution made him
the scapegoat.

Meth is a chemical cocktail including derivatives of household medications
and a litany of other products including battery acid and anti-freeze.

The meth lab in Ellison was substantial in the amount of chemical and
finished product--720 grams.

A point, or about one-tenth of a gram, sells for between $5 and $10.

It was the first meth lab busted in the Central Okanagan.

The two remaining accused in the case, Keller and Crandall, still await
separate trials. Keller is due in court in early December.