B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Office filed a notice in the Supreme Court seeking to seize two 琉璃神社 properties, alleging the owners and the properties have links to drug trafficking.
Filed Tuesday (Nov. 12) in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver, the notice of claim lists Richard Kelly Madore and his spouse, Tania Deanna Madore as defendants. It also lists Madore's business, All Out Customs & Collision Ltd., located at 700-1708 Dolphin Ave., also in 琉璃神社.
The properties are located at 3885 Miller Rd. and 102-460 Neave Ct.
The two properties, according to the notice of claim, were being used for unlawful activity, including drug trafficking and money laundering. It adds that some or all of the funds used to acquire or maintain the properties were from the trafficking, while also breaching the Income Tax Act.
The claim adds that the two properties are "likely to be used" for further unlawful activity in the future, and if the properties aren't forfeited, "they will likely be used for the unlawful activity."
B.C.'s police gang unit investigates
Richard Madore's last known address is 3885 Miller Rd. where he lives with Tania. They are described as the "directors and operating minds" of All Out Customs, while Madore is also the president and secretary of the company.
The notice claims that All Out Customs is a "front or shell company and does not conduct any legitimate business."
In February 2023, the B.C. police gang unit, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, started an investigation into drug-trafficking operations in 琉璃神社.
The claim says that Madore was a target of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit's investigation, and in September of that year Madore and others met at the Neave Court property 鈥� in an industrial area 鈥� for "short duration meets consistent with drug trafficking." Those meetings allegedly continued in November, along with the "transportation of bags between vehicles."
On Dec. 13, 2023, CFSEU searched the Neave Court property and found: 64.5 grams of cocaine; 28.6 grams of MDMA; 39 Xanax pills; 8.2 kilograms of cannabis in garbage bags; 398 cannabis joints; seven jars of cannabis oil, weighing more than three kilograms; 282 grams of psilocybin; two digital weigh scales; records of transactions, including sale, collection and debts, also known as "score sheets"; $436,000 in Canadian currency inside a backpack; and $17,000 in Canadian currency bundled in elastic bands and inside a Ziploc bag, "not consistent with standard banking practices."
Madore was arrested that same day for possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The claim adds that Madore had previously been convicted of possession of a controlled substance.
What the province is asking for
Now, the B.C. government is looking to have the properties 鈥� and their proceeds, including any interest 鈥� forfeited to the province.
The property at 3885 Miller Rd., as of July 1, 2023, was assessed at a little more than $2 million, according to BC Assessment.
Madore became the registered owner of the six-bedroom, three-bathroom single-storey house in July 2004. The claim notes that the Madores financed the purchase of the property and the mortgage is registered with TD Bank.
The claim adds that in December 2007 Madore transferred half of the interest of the house to Tania for $1.
The property at 102-460 Neave Ct. was assessed at $913,300 in July 2023.
All Out Customs became the registered owner of the Neave Court property in November 2010, the claim states, but the Madores are also the beneficial owners of the property. It was also financed, in part, with a mortgage from Interior Equities Corp.
The defendants have 21 days to file a response to the claim.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
