Charges stayed in massive drug case marred by Victoria police misconduct
Drug charges have been stayed against three men who Victoria’s police chief once described as being “at the top of the fentanyl trafficking pyramid in British Columbia.” The investigation that led to their arrest and a $30-million seizure of drugs, guns and cash is stained by police misconduct.
Court records obtained by CTV News point to alleged misconduct by Victoria police officers who handled the investigation, dubbed Project Juliet.
On May 6, 2020, VicPD’s Strike Force team – an undercover unit focused on drugs and firearms – began investigating an organized crime group they believed was trafficking fentanyl.
At that time, one of the Strike Force officers, now-retired Const. Robb Ferris, was under criminal investigation by the RCMP’s anti-corruption unit for breach of trust and obstruction of justice.
“Despite that, Mr. Ferris was permitted to participate in the investigation on a ‘business as usual’ fashion, so as to not alert him to the fact that he was under investigation,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray wrote in her decision.
The decision is in response to one of the accused’s applications to access information regarding VicPD’s decision to allow the “disgraced” officer to participate in the investigation.
Ferris helped with surveillance and handling an informant. In mid-June of 2020, he was arrested by the RCMP.
While he was never criminally charged, court records indicate that a “discipline authority” found that 19 claims of misconduct by Ferris under the Police Act “appeared to be substantiated.”
The “substantiations of misconduct” include divulging details of investigations and covert operations to family members and a civilian.
Following Ferris’s arrest, VicPD suspended the officer and dropped all ongoing investigations he was involved in, including the fentanyl trafficking probe.
Days later, VicPD picked it back up under a new file number.
'Investigators misled the Crown'
Save for Ferris, all of the same VicPD officers were involved in the renewed investigation, Project Juliet, Murray wrote.
“Investigators appreciated that the arrest of Mr. Ferris and the allegations against him were serious, and that it was unlikely that any prosecution that relied on Mr. Ferris's evidence would be able to proceed,” Murray said.
“In an effort to distance the investigation from Mr. Ferris, the investigators decided that they would not use any information learned from the first investigation and would re-learn anything that they had learned before.”
The investigation eventually expanded into a joint operation with B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in Surrey, culminating in the arrest of three men, Vu Bao Nguyen, Bryan Balla, and Brent Van Buskirk on Nov. 17, 2020.
"When we talk about the scope of this project, this is the top of the fentanyl trafficking pyramid in British Columbia," Victoria police Chief Del Manak said in a news release a month later.
A report disclosed to Van Buskirk following his arrest states the investigation began in June 2020, Murray wrote.
“Nowhere in the 347-page [report to Crown counsel] is there reference to any investigative steps taken by VicPD prior to June 23, 2020. Nor does it mention Mr. Ferris’s misconduct,” she said.
The initial investigation came to light after a defence lawyer, “scrupulously reviewing disclosure, noticed a report date in one of the tasks of April 20, 2020. This stuck out as all material that had been disclosed commenced on June 23, 2020,” Murray wrote.
VicPD’s lead investigator said it was an “admin oversight,” Murray said, but defence counsel continued to probe.
By the end of 2022, Crown counsel learned about the first investigation involving Ferris and that search warrants had been obtained during that investigation, despite officers swearing otherwise.
"Not only did police not mention the first investigation [that Ferris participated in], they obscured it," Murray wrote.
“Investigators misled the Crown, defence and the justices that issued authorizations and warrants into believing that the investigation commenced in June 2020.”
Charges stayed
On Feb. 17, 2023, prosecutors stayed all drug and weapons charges against Nguyen and Balla. Charges against Van Buskirk were stayed on Jan. 19.
“No reasons for the stay were provided on the record,” the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said in an email to CTV News.
A stay of charges halts legal proceedings, but can be lifted later to resume the court process.
CTV News is awaiting comment from VicPD.
The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner tasked the Delta Police Department with investigating the lead officer on Project Juliet for allegations of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty. Murray’s decision shows the investigation began last September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Critical infrastructure 'successfully protected': Jasper park officials
Jasper National Park officials in an update said all critical infrastructure in the townsite has been 'successfully protected, including the hospital, emergency services building, both elementary and junior/senior schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.'
BREAKING Canadian Olympic Committee removes women's soccer team's head coach over drone scandal
The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed women's national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman over a drone scandal, according to a press release from the organization.
'I was just shocked': Jasper lodge owner on seeing property destroyed by wildfire
On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., was shocked to receive a photo of her business engulfed in flames.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Yukon woman narrowly escapes bear attack, credits hair clip
A woman in Yukon believes her hair clip helped save her during a bear attack.
P.E.I. and New Brunswick among most overworked provinces in Canada, study finds
A study says Prince Edward Island is the second most overworked province in Canada based on average weekly hours worked, while New Brunswick falls in third.
Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond likely has Indigenous DNA: report
The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree "most likely" has Indigenous heritage.
Alberta premier says a third, perhaps half, of all Jasper buildings destroyed by fire
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says early reports indicate a third and perhaps up to half of all buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper have burned in a wildfire.
OPINION Prince Harry: Press intrusion and the family rift explored in new doc
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has once again found himself at the centre of media attention following his recent interview as part of 'Tabloids on Trial,' an ITV documentary on phone hacking and tabloid intrusion.