A White Rock house that police say was used as a drug lab has been forfeited to the province.
Master Terry C. Vos made the “by consent” decision regarding 849 Parker St. in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday (Oct. 16).
According to the order, defendant Navjot Singh Basi – who was not represented at the hearing – is to receive $497,018.95 from the proceeds of the sale, as well as 15 per cent equity (the difference between the sale price of the property, net of adjustments, and the court-ordered amount); with both amounts to be paid to Narwal Litigation LLP in trust.
BC Assessment lists the 2019 assessed value of the property – as of July 1, 2018 – at $1,006,900.
The Director of Civil Forfeiture’s application, filed Aug. 31, 2016, stemmed from a raid on the home in May of the same year by the Mounties’ Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, assisted by White Rock RCMP and the Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team.
READ MORE: Two charged following White Rock raid
READ MORE: Province seeks to seize White Rock ‘drug house’
Two people were arrested and subsequently charged with multiple drug-related offences, including possession for the purpose of trafficking.
One week after the raid, police shared the results of the search conducted at the home, listing multiple weapons, drugs and cash as among items seized. A news release also noted that testing confirmed the presence of fentanyl.
In October 2018, Surrey’s Frederic Dwayne Wilson was sentenced to 10 years in jail on three charges, and five years on a fourth.
The Civil Forfeiture Office, in seeking a judicial order to seize the house, alleged Basi “”knew or ought to have known the manner in which the property was being used and is likely to be used in the future” or “was wilfully blind to the manner in which the property was used and is likely to be used in the future.”
Basi, in speaking to Peace Arch News in September 2016, disagreed. He confirmed he owned the subject home, but disputed the assertion that he would knowingly rent his home out for that purpose.
He described the court action as “unfair… just ridiculous.”
According to Wednesday’s court order, Basi is to “deliver vacant possession of the Property” within three weeks of the court order, subject to the rights of any tenant lawfully occupying the property.
