B.C.’s public safety minister expressed distress over the staying of criminal charges against major fentanyl traffickers in the province due to police actions taken during the investigation, calling it “unacceptable.” Minister Mike Farnworth announced his frustration to reporters on Feb. 15, claiming that he was “angry as everybody else” about the news of the charges being stayed.
Farnworth also asserted that he would be investigating and taking measures to prevent such occurrences from happening again. He stated, “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.”
The day after Farnworth’s comments, the Victoria Police Department issued an apology regarding the incident. Chief constable Del Manak addressed the challenges of the case, noting that it was an intricate file with three simultaneous investigations. Additionally, the officer involved in the drug investigation was also under a separate corruption investigation, but this information was not disclosed to the lawyers in the case.
Robb Ferris, the officer in question, was part of the Project Juliet investigation from May 6 to June 18, 2020, until he was arrested. Despite the corruption investigation, Ferris was allowed to continue participating in the drug investigation, accompanied the surveillance team, and co-handled an informant. When Ferris was eventually dismissed due to the corruption findings, the drug investigation was re-set, although the court could not confirm that the investigations were unrelated.
The court found that in Project Juliet, investigators concealed the existence of the first investigation from the Crown, defense, and issuing Justices. Considering the close timelines between the termination and recommencement of the investigation, it appeared feasible that the investigators continued from where they had left off. In a statement, Manack explained that the decisions made during the simultaneous investigations were made in good faith in an attempt to minimize the impact of drug and organized crime activities on the streets. An inquiry into the situation by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner was also mentioned, but no response was received by publication time.
The investigation which included the Victoria Police Department and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C resulted in the seizure of over 12 kilograms of high-concentration fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, with an estimated total value of $30 million. Moreover, 20 firearms were confiscated, including pistols, shotguns, and assault-style rifles. As part of the investigation, three individuals were arrested, and searches were conducted in Victoria and the Lower Mainland.