B.C. union leader arrested in U.S. on drug charge
Last Updated: Thursday, January 25, 2007 | 11:00 AM PT
CBC News
The business manager of the B.C. and Yukon local of the Ironworkers union has been arrested in Washington state, where he has been charged with a serious drug offence.
Perley Edmund Holmes, 50, is in jail in Spokane and faces a charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
U.S. border patrol officers said they arrested Holmes last Thursday near Chesam, Wash., just south of Grand Forks in B.C.'s southern Interior.
They said they seized more than 60 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated $4.3 million.
Union president David Beatty said the arrest came as a big surprise to people who know Holmes.
"It's probably as shocking as could be, for anyone I've talked to, our members, our contractors. It's completely out of character and nobody can visualize this happening."
Beatty also said Holmes is no longer on the payroll.
An auditor will be brought in to review the finances of the local to ensure no illegal activities were conducted with union funds, he said.
Holmes faces 10 years to life in an American prison if he's convicted of the allegations.
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