This application for an interim preservation arose after the police obtained a search warrant for the home and found a number of illegal knives and drugs, including a one-kilogram brick of cocaine, as well as items related to the production of drugs.
The Director of Civil Forfeiture applied for an interim preservation order of the residence, pending the outcome of the trial. Mr. Justice Williamson of the BC Supreme Court agreed to grant the order, stating that there was a “serious issue to be tried,” as follows:
“[15] Applying that reasoning here, I am satisfied and have reasonable grounds to believe that a portion of the interest in the property is proceeds of an unlawful activity or that the property was the instrument of unlawful activity. Tse was found in the residence. He is the sole registered owner. There were substantial amounts of illegal drugs and related paraphernalia found in the common areas in that residence. I am satisfied, based upon the reasoning in Peterson, that there are reasonable grounds which meet the test set out in the Act.”
Decided by the BC Supreme Court on July 6, 2007.
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