B.C. minister calls out police over stayed drug charges - Action News
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British Columbia

B.C. minister calls out police over stayed drug charges

B.C.'s public safety minister says he's outraged at revelations members of Victoria's police department caused the collapse of a major drug sting by lying to prosecutors.

Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner confirms resumption of handling of 'Project Juliet'

A man with white hair on the sides looks at the camera with a no-nonsense expression.
B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he was 'angry' to learn that police misconduct resulted in the staying of charges in a major drug prosecution. (Mike McArthur/CBC)

B.C.'s public safety ministersays he's outraged at revelations members of Victoria's police department caused the collapse of a major drug prosecution by misleadingCrown counsel.

A day after CBC reported thatcharges had been stayed against three men accused of sitting at the top ofB.C's "fentanyl trafficking pyramid," Mike Farnworth told reporters he was as "angry as everybody else when I heard the news about the staying of the charges."

"I also want to know and will be looking into the matter in terms of getting information: what specifically went wrong, how did it go wrong and what steps are being taken to ensure that it does not happen again," said Farnworth, who is also solicitor general.

'Project Juliet'

The minister's comments followed the release this week of a B.C. Supreme Court judgmentclaimingVictoria police officers misled prosecutors and defence lawyers about the involvement in their investigation of an officer who was himself under criminal investigation.

Victoria Police Chief Const. Del Manak apologized Wednesday for any "contributions" his officers had made to the demise of 'Project Juliet' but he stopped short of pointing a finger at anyone beyond Robb Ferris, the disgraced officer who has since resigned from the force.

A table in front of a Victoria Police logo shows a gun, multiple containers filled with drugs and a stack of paper money.
Victoria Police congratulated themselves on the success of Project Juliet, a joint investigation that resulted in three arrests and the seizure of $30 million worth of fentanyl. But the case later fell apart because of alleged police misconduct. (Victoria Police)

Ferris was not criminally charged in connection with the allegations against him, which includedassociating with suspects, divulging details of investigations to family members, improperly accessing police databases and lying to investigators.

According to Justice Catherine Murray's decision,he remained part of the initial 'Project Juliet' investigative team from May 2020 to June 2020, because the lead investigator didn't want to tip him off to a criminal probe against him by the RCMP's anti-corruption squad.

Ferris was arrested in June 2020.

Murray said 'Project Juliet'recommenced without him, culminating in the three arrests. But when investigators filed a final report to Crown counsel they left out any mention of activities preceding June 2020.

The judge said anofficer tasked with writing applications for search warrants "concealed" the existence of previous authorizations obtained in the investigation.

And when a defence lawyer stumbled on an earlier date in the documentation, a new lead investigator told Crown counsel it was an administrative oversight.

That lead investigator is now herself under external investigation.

'It's unacceptable what happened'

On Thursday, the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner confirmed the initiation of aninvestigation conductedbyDelta Police into the handling of 'Project Juliet.'

A man in a police uniform stands before a podium speaking with his hands clasped together. Behind him on a screen are the words 'Honour through service.'
Victoria Police Chief Const. Del Manak apologized for the actions of his officers leading to the collapse of the prosecution of three men accused in a fentanyl trafficking ring. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press)

"This investigation was placed on hold while the matter was before the courts," the OPCC said in an email.

"We are reviewing the decision of the B.C. Supreme Court and will lift the suspension in due course and the investigation will continue. This investigation will examine all relevant circumstances relating to this matter."

The CBC has also learned that at least one criminal conviction in which Ferris played a role is currently before the B.C. Court of Appeal with his part in the proceedings a matter of contention.

Manak said Victoria Police and RCMP performed an audit following Ferris's arrest to determine the impact of his alleged misconduct on any other investigations.

But he said he did not have the details.

Farnworth said Thursday that Victoria Police have indicated that "they will be making significant changes to ensure that this does not happen again.

"I want to make sure that if there are gaps identified, that they are addressed," Farnworth said.

"Quite frankly, it's unacceptable what happened."