CRASHED 'POT PLANE' LINKED TO SURREY

A South Surrey man who served time for flying pot across the border
has been identified as the owner of a single-engine plane that crashed
near Keremeos last week, near a trail of marijuana that appears to
have been dumped from the air.

Glen Cuthbert Finch, who also listed a South Okanagan address, was a
high-rolling Surrey pot smuggler who pleaded guilty in 2000 to
sneaking marijuana across the border in his homemade airplane.

He was sentenced to three years in jail under a plea bargain where he
agreed to turn over $1 million worth of property purchased with his
drug profits.

Investigators said they could not confirm or deny that Finch was the
pilot of the crashed plane because no criminal charges have been laid
so far.

They will only say the pilot of the single-engine aircraft registered
to Finch will appear in court Feb. 7 of next year and will likely face
a number of criminal charges, including possible drug and customs violations.

The suspect was arrested Oct. 5 after the light plane crashed in a
field west of Keremeos.

The pilot was being tracked by a U.S. Customs aircraft after he failed
to report crossing the border. According to police, the pilot landed
in Princeton first. The aircraft took off again, heading east toward
Keremeos, where it ran out of fuel and crashed in a field at 4:39 p.m.
The pilot left the site and was picked up by a motorist who alerted
police.

RCMP did not find drugs on the plane, but were able to locate a
significant amount of marijuana along the route from Princeton to
Keremeos, said Makepeace.

In July of 2000, Finch pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking,
possession of the proceeds of crime and breaching parole. He had used
an unlicensed two-seater single engine plane to move B.C. marijuana
from Langley to buyers in Washington, Oregon and California.

Police seized $1 million in property under proceeds of crime
legislation. The profits from smuggling pot were substantial for
Finch, who enjoyed a lavish lifestyle that included a Porsche Boxster
sports car, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, lakeside property in
Osoyoos, three speedboats and a wine collection valued at $50,000.

At the time of his arrest, Finch was a known associate of Surrey
marijuana growing mastermind Donald Briere, who was sentenced to four
years in jail after being convicted of laundering an estimated $2.3
million acquired from pot sales.

This September, Briere's parole was revoked and he was returned to
jail after he was arrested by Vancouver Police for allegedly supplying
pot to a controversial Vancouver store that sold marijuana over the
counter.

Briere ran as a Marijuana Party candidate in Surrey in the last
provincial election.