Yellowknife (Apr 29/05) - A British Columbia drug runner caught with nearly $100,000 worth of marijuana was given a suspended sentence Wednesday in territorial court.

Judge Robert Gorin gave Marjorie Bissonnette 12 months credit for six months she served in custody while awaiting trial.

Bissonnette pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking during the court appearance - six months after she was arrested with 4.9 kilograms of cannabis near Rae-Edzo.

"(Drugs are) a very, very serious problem in the Northwest Territories," said Judge Robert Gorin, who handed down the sentence.

Police stopped Bissonnette for speeding outside Rae-Edzo on Oct. 17, 2004.

When officers approached her white Lincoln Towncar, they noticed the aroma of marijuana, Crown Attorney Paul Falvo told the court.

An informant told police a car with British Columbia plates would be making drug deliveries in Yellowknife and Hay River, Falvo said.

A search revealed 4.9 kilograms of marijuana in the trunk, parcelled into 13 separate packages. The drugs were worth $98,000 on the street.

A passenger in the car, Constantine Savas, was also charged with a host of drug offences after police discovered his fingerprint on the evidence. The charges against Savas were dismissed earlier this year during a preliminary hearing.

While the drugs were discovered in Bissonnette's car, Falvo said the case against the Kelowna resident "was not a slam dunk."

Falvo said that played an important role in plea discussions with Bissonnette and her lawyer. In court, Falvo recommended Bissonnette receive a 12 month jail term - a sentence he conceded was in "the low end of the range."

"It came down to the strength of the prosecution's case," Falvo told Gorin.

Gorin's ruling on the sentence essentially nullified the 12-month joint recommendation from Falvo and defence lawyer Hugh Latimer.

Gorin placed Bissonnette on probation for one year. He also forfeited her car to the Crown under a section of the criminal code that allows the prosecution to seize vehicles used to traffic drugs.