Ford’s friend tried to swap drugs for mayor’s phone

The arrest of Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s occasional driver and friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi was sparked when Lisi tried to swap drugs for the mayor’s lost cell phone, according to reports from the Toronto Star.

The Star says Lisi tried to trade marijuana for a stolen phone of an “associate.” The police document the Star cites doesn’t name Ford, but other sources say Ford’s phone was taken around this time, and attempts were made to retrieve it.

Lisi was charged with several drug offences last week. Other reports link him to attempts to retrieve an alleged video that is said to show Ford smoking crack cocaine.