CRIMINAL PROBE TARGETS LIBERAL STAFFERS

An investigation into drug smuggling and police corruption that
started 20 months ago led Victoria police and RCMP officers to the
hallways of B.C.'s legislature.

A team of investigators from both law enforcement agencies searched
the offices of two influential provincial appointees Sunday, seizing
more than two dozen boxes of files and documents, along with computer
hard drives believed to contain key evidence.

While police wouldn't release the names of any suspects, sources close
to the case confirmed that the appointees under investigation are
David Basi, ministerial assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins,
and Bob Virk, ministerial assistant to transportation Minister Judith
Reid.

"This started 20 months ago with the Victoria police and RCMP drug
section and organized crime sections. It then expanded to commercial
crime," Victoria police Chief Paul Battershill said at a press
conference Monday.

Battershill said police have been aware of the need to search offices
in the legislature for "about two weeks," but offered no specifics on
the kind evidence the seized files may contain.

Police also searched half a dozen other locations in Greater Victoria
Sunday, including businesses and Basi's private residence. One of the
businesses was an organization involved in lobbying the provincial
government, Battershill told reporters.

Battershill acknowledged that Sunday's raid also has a connection to
the suspension of Victoria police Const. Rob Dosanjh earlier this month.

"There's an indirect relation with that file," he said. "It's quite
indirect but it may become apparent in the months ahead."

At an RCMP press conference in Vancouver Monday, police said that
Sunday's raid was also linked to the arrest two weeks ago of nine
people in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto who were implicated in the
sale of B.C. marijuana to the United States in return for cocaine that
was being distributed in Canada.

While none of those individuals have been charged, police have
recovered a quantity of drugs as a result of the arrests, said RCMP
spokesman Sgt. John Ward. Battershill said the RCMP, in particular its
commercial crime unit, will now take the lead in the investigation,
which is expected to take months.

In accordance with laws governing the provincial cabinet and
solicitor-client privilege, the documents seized from the legislature
will remain sealed until the B.C. Supreme Court has had a chance to
sort through the evidence, Battershill said.

"They probably won't be unsealed and available to police for some
time," he said.

Sources told the News Group that Basi has close ties to both the
provincial and federal Liberal parties.

Basi has a close relationship with Collins that dates back to the
finance minister's days in opposition, when Basi was a civil servant
in the NDP Ministry of Small Business and Tourism.

Both Basi and Virk owe their jobs to cabinet appointments and report
directly to Martyn Brown, Premier Gordon Campbell's chief of staff.

Basi was a key supporter among Western Liberals in the leadership
campaign of Canada's new Prime Minister, Paul Martin. He is also an
active supporter of Hewitt Helmsing, a local funeral home owner who is
seeking the Liberal nomination in Saanich-Gulf Islands in the upcoming
federal election.

One well-placed Liberal told the News Group that Basi wields an
"inordinate" amount of power in government.

"That's a question a lot of people ask. Why is this guy so powerful?"
the source said. "Nobody's been able to figure out why he's so
influential."

Ward stressed that the ongoing criminal investigation does not involve
any elected officials, federal, provincial or otherwise.

The investigation surrounding evidence seized from the legislature
will be overseen by Vancouver lawyer William Berardino, the same
special prosecutor that is handling the Dosanjh case.

Special prosecutors are often appointed to ensure the integrity of
politically sensitive cases.

In his statement to the media, Ward noted that "the spread of
organized crime just in the past two years has been like a cancer on
the social and economic well-being of all British Columbians."

Battershill wouldn't rise to the bait when reporters asked if Basi and
Virk have been linked to organized crime.

"I'm not going to say that, but there obviously is a large problem
with organized crime in B.C.," he said.

Staff at the Ministry of Finance said Collins is vacationing out of
the country and won't be back until Jan. 9. Reid was also away on vacation.

Solicitor-General Rich Coleman, who has been speaking to the issue on
behalf of government, was unavailable for comment Monday.

However, Battershill said Coleman "has been very straightforward in
supporting a proper police investigation."