Details about drug bust, seizures emerge

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This article was published 13/07/2013 (4678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Motorcycles, classic cars and snowmobiles are among the property seized in the wake of the biggest drug bust in the history of the Brandon police force.

Witnesses say a procession of flatbed tow trucks hauled away vehicles from the home of an accused north of Kemnay on Wednesday morning.

“There was cop cars down there …” said one area resident, who described some of the items taken, goods that presumably belong to the homeowner. “I saw two cars go by, one on each semi, and then some Ski-Doos … his big red truck went by on a flatbed too.”

“We did see police cars and two trucks,” said another resident. “They took a lot of equipment away there. Cars and motorcycles and snowmobiles.”

Both residents asked not to be identified.

Judging by their descriptions and court documents, the seized cars were likely a “suped up” 1981 Chevrolet Camaro and a 1978 Ford Mustang. The truck might have been a 2011 Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab pickup truck.

Those vehicles are among a long list of items seized, and assets and funds frozen, in connection with a lengthy drug investigation by the Brandon Police Service.

In October, police announced a total of $2 million worth of drugs were seized during a search of rural properties near Brandon and Gilbert Plains. Details of the covert investigation are now available for the first time. They came to light this week after justice officials moved to seize property and assets said to be linked to “an elaborate, large-scale drug trafficking network.”

What follows are allegations based on civil court documents and they haven’t been proven in court.

Since 2003, Brandon police had received more than 380 tips from numerous sources that a man was shipping marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy into Manitoba. Two other men were later identified as also being suspects in the operation.

The drugs were being shipped from British Columbia every three weeks — hidden in furniture and moving boxes inside enclosed trailers. The marijuana earned the nickname “couch weed” because it was hidden in furniture.

It’s alleged that, once in Manitoba, the drugs were taken to a property near Kemnay and a property in the RM of Gilbert Plains where they were stored, repackaged and distributed to Brandon and Dauphin drug dealers.

Some of the drugs were also dropped off in Saskatchewan.

Besides the three men said to be key in the operation, numerous other men worked for the network by transporting and distributing the drugs.

As a result of the tips, Brandon police ran a number of covert surveillance projects in 2011 and 2012. During those operations, police watched as suspects moved boxes, couches and bags between various rural properties.

It’s believed the items contained large quantities of marijuana and other drugs to be divided among dealers for sale.

During the investigation, police went as far as planting a tracking device on a motor home believed to have been used to transport drugs from B.C. to Manitoba.

The big break in the case came on Oct. 14, 2012 when a BPS officer got a tip that a shipment of marijuana and cocaine was headed for a property in the RM of Gilbert Plains.

The next day, police had the property under surveillance and watched as a pair of trailers were towed there.

Three men who were at the site then left and, warrant in hand, police searched the trailers. In one trailer, they found shrink-wrapped chairs with a plastic bag taped to the bottom of one of the seat cushions. The bag contained 100 marijuana “lollipops.”

In total, inside the two trailers, police also found bags and boxes containing 136 two-pound packages or bags of marijuana.

There’s some discrepancy when it comes to other drugs that were reportedly found.

Police initially reported two kilograms of cocaine were found at the property, but documents indicate that a one-kilogram brick of highly concentrated cocaine and a one-kilogram brick of ecstasy were found in one of the trailers.

From a house at the property, police seized various documents, packing materials and $3,700 cash. One of the documents indicated that $150,000 had been paid to two people, including one said to have ties to Hells Angels in B.C.

The total value of the drugs seized from the RM of Gilbert Plains property was estimated at between $985,000 and $2.2 million.

That same day, police also searched a Kemnay-area home and property. According to the court documents, police found $2,665 in cash and one pound of compressed ecstasy with a street value of $136,200.

Firearms were also found on the property.

The three men, said to be important players in the drug operation, were arrested as a result of the searches at the two properties.

The case took another step this week when the office of the Director of Criminal Property and Forfeiture was granted an interim preservation order from a Court of Queen’s Bench judge.

That allowed the seizure of property and freezing of accounts and assets — including five properties, 18 vehicles and two trailers — said to belong to a number of individuals and a corporation.

Two of the properties are near Kemnay, one in Brandon, one in Dauphin and one in the RM of Gilbert Plains.

Funds in accounts at various banks were also frozen while $30,000 in cash seized during the October arrests and searches is also being held by justice officials.

It’s alleged that the real estate, vehicles and money are related to the drug operation. The properties and vehicles were either allegedly bought using illegal drug profits or used to store and distribute the drugs.

It’s believed that the purchase of expensive items was a way to launder money from the drug trade.

The list of goods to be seized includes a 2007 Ferrari and a John Deere combine, but the combine was previously sold and the Ferrari and a number of other vehicles haven’t been found yet.

In general, interim orders obtained under the province’s Criminal Property Forfeiture Act allow the office of the Director of Criminal Property and Forfeiture to seize goods and assets believed to have been obtained unlawfully, to prevent them from being sold or hidden.

The director then seeks an order to have the court declare assets forfeit to the province, which would ultimately allow any funds or profit from the sale of property to be put into a fund. That fund is then used to support the work of police and victim services.

Property owners, however, have a chance to fight the forfeiture by proving the goods were obtained lawfully. Until a decision is made on forfeiture, homes can’t be sold, but the owners and any tenants can live in them.

The forfeiture of goods is a civil court process independent of any criminal proceedings. Ill-gotten assets can be declared forfeit even if an accused is ultimately acquitted of criminal charges.

Jayant David Venn, Reid and Garret Dykun, and Brian Decosse are all charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and other charges.

» ihitchen@brandonsun.com