NNSL (Oct 17/97) - A man who police say swallowed as many as eight individually-wrapped grams of cocaine spent Wednesday night under the eyes of Yellowknife RCMP as the drug worked through his system.

Five packets of cocaine were produced on Thursday morning, police say.

Medical staff told the man that if any of the drug leaked into his stomach or small intestine, he would probably die.

Police say they saw the man swallowing something after a car was pulled over in the Kentucky Fried Chicken parking lot.

He was arrested and charged with possession, then taken to Stanton Regional Hospital, where police waited until about 10 a.m., Thursday, say the man delivered five grams of cocaine.

This is the second major drug arrest police have made this week.

On Tuesday a 22-year-old man was charged with trafficking in an ongoing investigation of what police call a "well-organized" ring that they say trafficked cocaine from Edmonton to Yellowknife.

Six people here and in Alberta have been charged in the investigation and warrants were issued for four others.

The charges stem from an undercover operation mounted by Yellowknife RCMP and Edmonton drug squads in June, which culminated in a series of raids in September.

An 18-year-old local man was recently sentenced to a year in jail for being part of the ring. Two other men appeared in court yesterday.