Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Jul 13/98) - Judge Yves Legace says he doesn't understand how a grown man with a family can plan to sell cocaine.

In Iqaluit territorial court last week, Legace sentenced Mario Oulette to spend the next year of his life in prison.

The 51-year-old's case first came to the court in September 1997 after Iqaluit RCMP were tipped off that Oulette was due to arrive in Iqaluit with two ounces of cocaine.

The RCMP met Oulette at the airport and upon searching him and his luggage, found an airline cargo waybill, along with 240 small plastic bags, which they assumed were to be used for trafficking purposes.

The next day, police picked up the parcel, which contained a scale and more than 56 grams of cocaine, valued at $11,000 on the streets of Iqaluit.

Crown prosecutor Luc Cadieux asked Legace to sentence the accused to a year. The judge agreed, saying that "incarceration is appropriate."

Legace added that the Northerners must be discouraged from selling narcotics.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen people arrested in Iqaluit's March 24 drug bust are still waiting for their day in court.

During last week's sitting before Legace, the defendants learned their lawyers had to be given access to the wiretap evidence that led to the massive drug bust.

While a territorial court judge previously ordered the evidence released, the NWT Supreme Court says the judge may not have the jurisdictional right to do so.

Defence lawyers have reapplied for access to the information and hope to be able to examine it before appearing in court on Aug. 17.

Pending disclosure, the court will use that day to confirm trial dates, which have tentatively been set for the fall.