Crown wants Coquitlam house forfeited

The B.C. government wants a Coquitlam woman’s house forfeited because her son was allegedly running a drug line from the property.

The director of civil forfeiture filed a lawsuit Monday claiming Christina Kawalec’s house on Sylvia Place has been used as “an instrument of unlawful activity.”

And the suit says Kawalec, who bought the house in 2002, should have known her son Aaron was allegedly using her residence to stash drugs for his operation.

“At all material times, Ms. Kawalec knew or ought reasonably to have known the manner in which the property was being used and is likely to be used in the future,” the director says. “In the alternative, Ms. Kawalec was wilfully blind to the manner in which the property was used and is likely to be used in the future.”

Coquitlam RCMP began an investigation in September into a local drug line after identifying the phone number it was using. Aaron Kawalec was “an operator of the drug line,” the suit claims, adding he was using a 2010 Audi, then registered to his mother.

Aaron Kawalec, who has a previous conviction for possession for the purpose of trafficking, has not yet been charged. Neither he nor his mother have filed a response to the civil suit, which contains allegations not proven in court. The suit against the mother and son comes a year after a B.C. Supreme Court master ordered the forfeiture of a 2007 Audi registered to Christina, but used by Aaron.