VANCOUVER — The B.C. government is seeking forfeiture of two Coal Harbour condos after a police investigation in 2022 uncovered drugs, guns and cash allegedly linked to Vancouver money launderer Omid Mashinchi.
In a lawsuit filed on July 17 in B.C. Supreme Court, the province alleges the two condos were used by and before March 2022 by Mashinchi, Tyler Zoltan Joseph Barta and “their associates” to produce, package and store controlled substances, and to store the proceeds of crime.
Uncovered by a Vancouver Police Department investigation in a raid on March 8, 2022 at the Alberni Street and West Georgia Street condos were more than $26,000 in cash and nearly nine kilograms of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy. Also found were more than 150 litres of GHB, often called a date-rape drug, according to Health Canada.
Also found at the two condos were two safes, four money-counting machines, 16 weigh scales, and nine firearms that included handguns, shotguns and rifles.
The haul also included computers, cellphones, a Samurai-style sword, and a Breitling watch.
The suit says Mashinchi had “care and control” of the properties during the investigation, and Barta resided at the Alberni property.
“The properties have been used to engage in unlawful activities which variously resulted in, or were likely to result in, the acquisition of property or an interest in property, or caused, or could have resulted in serious bodily harm,” the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office said in its filing.
The court filing lists the alleged unlawful activities as production and possession of illicit drugs and drug trafficking, careless storage of firearms and prohibited weapons, unauthorized possession of firearms, possessing the proceeds of crime, money laundering and criminal conspiracy.
The civil suit does not say what police force conducted the investigation, but the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General confirmed the Vancouver police carried out the probe in 2022.
this month, the Vancouver police released an update of a three-year illicit drug trafficking sting in Vancouver, saying that six people had been charged, including Mashinchi.
Investigators seized more than 200 kilograms of illicit drugs, including fentanyl-laced pills disguised as generic Percocet, worth an estimated $16 million. They also seized seven firearms and $500,000 in cash and jewelry.
At the time, Vancouver spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said Project Torque, which began in 2021, targeted a sophisticated organized crime group operating out of Vancouver.
It is not clear if the seizures at the two Coal Harbour condos are linked to Project Torque.
The two mortgaged condos listed in the civil forfeiture action by the province are valued at $1.26 million, according the B.C. Assessment Authority records.
The Alberni Street condo is owned by Dr. Sandra Derkach Inc., while the West Georgia condo is owned by Miko Holdings Inc., whose sole director is Lulu Huang Chang.
There are no criminal charges filed against either property owner, according to a search of B.C. online court records. Civil forfeiture is tested at a lower threshold than criminal prosecutions, a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. Neither property owner has responded to the forfeiture suits in court.
Derkach and Chang could not be reached for comment. The law firms listed as the record holders of the two companies did not respond to queries.
