Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Jun 22/98) - Adam Pitts won't be a free man for a very long time.

In territorial court last week, Judge Dolores Hansen sentenced the 24-year-old Iqaluit resident to serve five and a half years in prison for three drug-related conspiracy charges.

Two of the charges resulted from the drug bust in Iqaluit earlier this year and the third came from a 1997 incident involving Yellowknife RCMP.

In an Iqaluit courtroom, Pitts pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiring to traffic in a controlled substance and one count of conspiring to import a controlled substance -- in that case cocaine from Columbia.

He has requested to serve the time in B.C. so he can be close to his family, said Crown prosecutor Brad Allison, who expected that the court would comply with the request.

Of the 29 other people charged in the March 24, 1998, drug bust, Jamie Edwards and Ricardo Lahens have both pleaded guilty and are serving time while Remy Savignac is scheduled to appear in a B.C. court next month. He is also expected to plead guilty.

Allison said another accused has agreed to enter a guilty plea but has not yet done so.

Charges against Alain Roy were withdrawn while six others have elected to go to trial in territorial court later this fall. They include Billie Joe Barnes, Robert Houston, Roger Marquis, Mark Pitts, Mary Sheutiapik and Jean Louis Wisintainer.

Several other related matters are still before the court while defence lawyers wait to examine the evidence against their clients.

"They're waiting for access to materials that were the foundation for the authorization to intercept the private communications," said Allison.

Much of the evidence for the drug bust was gained through wire taps put out by the RCMP. "The defence people want to see that before they make their elections," said Allison.

Allison said he hoped the 18 outstanding cases would go before the judge early in July to receive trial dates.

The group includes Claude Caza, Francois Goupil, Levi Jeffrey, Nuylea Kipanik, Ben Junior Kipanik, Jean Pierre Levesque, Grant Liddiard, Kakasie Mitsima, Bera Naulaq, Michael Noah, Joelie Okalik, Eric Rose, Clara Rumboldt, Danny Savard, Chesley Short, Mark Wisintaner, Denis Aubut and Jay Wisintaner.

Allison said that of the 18 suspects, 11 are currently in custody and almost all face drug conspiracy charges.

It is estimated that the trials will take up to two months in territorial court this fall.