DRUG PROBE LED TO B.C. RAIL CASE

Court Told Cops Made Connection

A former government aide facing fraud and breach-of-trust charges was
allegedly involved in laundering drug money before police began
investigating him in connection with the sale of B.C. Rail, a Crown
lawyer said yesterday.

Janet Winteringham said that, starting in August 2002, police were
investigating Dave Basi's alleged drug connection with his cousin,
for whom the Crown alleges he was buying property to launder drug cash.

She said word on the street was that Jas Bains, Basi's cousin, had
taken over the drug trade on Vancouver Island after another man,
Cirilo Lopez, was arrested in the U.S. for importing drugs.

In April 2003, police connected four calls from Bains to Dave Basi's
cellphone at the B.C. Finance Ministry, Winteringham said. In
November 2003, police learned that Basi was involved in alleged
criminal matters related to the sale of Crown-owned B.C. Rail,
Winteringham said. Basi, who was an aide to former finance minister
Gary Collins, has been charged in connection with the sale of B.C.
Rail to CN Rail.

The second probe spun out of the drug investigation and led to a raid
on the provincial legislature in December 2003.

Bobby Virk, Basi's brother-in-law, who was an aide to
then-transportation minister Judith Reid, is also facing fraud and
breach-of-trust charges, while Aneal Basi, another cousin, is charged
with money-laundering in the B.C. Rail case.

The Crown said it has not decided whether it will go ahead with any
of the alleged drug charges against Dave Basi.

The Crown alleges that, between May 2002 and December 2003, Basi and
Virk received benefits from lobbyists at a firm called Pilothouse
Public Affairs Group in exchange for providing them with confidential
government documents regarding the sale of B.C. Rail.

The second round of proposals for the B.C. Rail sale was also leaked
by Virk and Basi, Winteringham said, adding they were promised
federal government jobs to hand over the documents.

In November 2002, both men went to Denver, where they were
entertained by OmniTRAX, one of the three bidders for B.C. Rail,
Winteringham said.

The government abandoned its plans to sell B.C. Rail's Roberts Bank
spur line after the information was disclosed, she added.