Man facing more drug-related charges
Three men arrested in connection with a recent RCMP drug bust appeared in court Thursday, one with three more charges against him than the initial five announced last week.
Three men arrested in connection with a recent RCMP drug bust appeared in court Thursday, one with three more charges against him than the initial five announced last week.
Jesse Ritchie, 34, now faces five counts of trafficking cocaine, two counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
Asif Aslam, 35, and Matthew Truesdale, 35, are co-accused with two counts each of cocaine trafficking and one count each of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
They appeared one after the other, behind reinforced glass, in front of Justice of the Peace Sharman Morrison-Harvey, two of them nodding to gallery members as they stood in court.
The trio must obey a no-contact order applicable to certain individuals.
The charges are part of a major police investigation into a B.C.-Yukon drug pipeline funneling narcotics into the North.
RCMP seized roughly 5 1/2 kilograms of cocaine and 28 1/2 kilograms of marijuana — worth about $550,000 and $280,000, respectively — from locations across B.C. and the territory.
The men were arrested within the past two weeks.
"The importers and dealers can be very creative and determined to sell drugs, and they're assisted in many ways by the people they sell to,” RCMP Cpl. Calista MacLeod said at the time of the arrests.
"We need all Yukoners to help us bring down the demand for drugs.”
Charges of possession of the proceeds of crime are pending against two other men, who have been released until a court appearance set for Feb. 26, 2014.
The investigation, which began earlier this year and targets a B.C.-based drug trafficking network that bleeds into the Yukon, is continuing across the two jurisdictions, MacLeod said.
The three men are due back in court for a hearing Dec. 5.
Comments (2)
Up 3 Down 3
Just say'in on Dec 1, 2013 at 8:22 am
@Sigh…Good one. I agree completely. But then what can we expect from the Justice System;OOPS I mean Legal System; when the guy running to be Prime Minister comes out and confesses to taking illegal substances while a sitting MP and nothing at all is done about that. Then how can you charge anyone else? The system only applies to normal law bidding citizens. True criminals get anything, but if you role through a Stop sign or talk on your Cell Phone look out, and there is not even room for an argument you are just guilty and that is it.
Up 28 Down 7
Sigh... on Nov 30, 2013 at 3:28 am
So this means they'll receive at least a 90 day prison sentence but of course have some time reduced for good behavior. Followed by some unenforced probation that with any luck will see them out of the pen and back in business on the streets by early summer at the latest... However maybe they had a rough childhood so if that's case there might not be any jail time whatsoever.
Now the wolf killing guy however is a major problem to the Yukon and a source of danger to everybody living north of 60 so I'm sure the judge will give him 5 years in the pen after seizing his possessions and bankrupting him going through the judicial system.
A big heartfelt 2 thumbs up for our judges and court system, you make us all so proud of you every time you hand down a sentence.