B.C.'s director of civil forfeiture has been scolded for trying to confiscate a Dodge Ram from a retired firefighter even though he didn't own the truck at the time of his arrest for drug possession.

Frank Wolff, formerly a Saanich fire captain and now a part-time hunting guide, was arrested in 2005 after police discovered a duffel bag full of marijuana in the back of his vehicle. He was leasing the pickup at the time, and would not buy it outright for another two years.

It wasn't until after the title was in Wolff's hands that the Civil Forfeiture Office applied for the right to seize and sell off the Dodge as an instrument of crime, a decision that earned the government body a tongue-lashing in B.C. Supreme Court this week.

"I am gravely concerned that the director waited until after Mr. Wolff acquired title to the truck before commencing this proceeding," Justice Robert Metzger wrote in a decision Tuesday.

"I do not agree that it would serve the interests of justice to compel forfeiture of instruments that were not owned at the time the offence was committed."

In fact, the Civil Forfeiture Act wasn't even in effect at the time Wolff was arrested.

The judge refused outright the director's application for forfeiture, in part because there wasn't enough evidence to prove that Wolff -- described as a respected community member with no history of drug-trafficking -- actually understood that he was participating in an organized criminal activity when he was arrested.

Wolff testified that the duffel bag had been given to him by a long-time acquaintance to pass along to another man he would meet while on a hunting trip in Williams Lake. Wolff said he opened up the bag after a disappointing day in the bush, and discovered the pot wrapped up inside Ziplock baggies.

He smoked some to make sure it was marijuana -- Wolff admitted to being a daily user -- and then panicked. He realized that he couldn't just throw the drugs away for fear that he would be harmed -- or that someone would hurt his animals back home.

And so he drove into Williams Lake, where he was pulled over for speeding. Officers sniffed out the smell of burnt marijuana and found the stash during a search of the truck.

Even if Wolff didn't traffic the drugs on purpose, he was still knowingly committing a crime and pleaded guilty to one count of possession in 2007. He received a conditional discharge. He has also refused to reveal the identity of the person who gave him the bag out of fear for his own safety.

The director of the civil forfeiture office argued in court that Wolff should forfeit his truck to deter him from dealing drugs in the future, but Justice Metzger rejected that suggestion.

"There is no evidence that Mr. Wolff has engaged in any further unlawful activity. Even if I order the truck forfeited, there is nothing stopping Mr. Wolff from borrowing or renting a vehicle should he choose to engage in similar activities in the future," the judge wrote.

"If the director's true motive was to prevent prospective unlawful activity, then the director would have moved in a timelier manner to initiate the proceedings."

The forfeiture office also suggested that if Wolff wasn't made to give up his truck, he should at least have to pay a hefty fine, but that argument was also turned down.

The truck was temporarily seized by the office during court proceedings, and Metzger ordered that it be returned to Wolff immediately. The forfeiture office will also have to repay his legal costs.