Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Aug 24/98) - A motion to stay all proceedings against a man alleged to be involved in a drug smuggling ring was filed in Iqaluit's territorial court last week.

Acting as an agent for defence counsel Andrew Fox, Ewan McKay served Crown lawyer Debra Robinson with the motion before Justice Beverly Brown on the grounds that an RCMP officer seized information from the accused on June 16 while he was in custody.

Along with other conspiracy and trafficking charges, the man has been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine from Columbia. He was one of 29 people arrested during a series of drug busts that took place in Iqaluit in March of this year.

The motion will be heard in court Sept. 1. If the drug charges are not thrown out of court, the trial is scheduled to begin the same day.

Other defendants charged during the same bust were supposed to have their day in court on August 31, but Judge Brown put the matter over because defence lawyers had only recently received disclosure on wire tap evidence being used against them.

While Justice Brown ordered the information be given to defence counsel on May 26, the NWT Supreme Court questioned her jurisdiction to do so. It wasn't until July 17 that crown lawyers obtained the information. After editing the material for purposes of confidentiality, copies of the information were sent by courier to the concerned parties.

Defence lawyer Sue Cooper said it was August 13 before she received her bulky package.

Apologizing to the defendants for the delay, Judge Brown said "the lawyers are not ready to go ahead, none of them are, so I have to set another date."

Judge Brown then ordered the accused to appear before her again on Sept. 8 to confirm their trial dates.

Cooper said that, so far, all of the accused had elected to be tried in territorial court but because they are co-charged, it would only take one defendant electing for superior court to change the other elections.

"If one accused goes to superior court, they all go to superior court before a judge and jury," said Cooper.

It is expected that the four different groups of people arrested on conspiracy and trafficking charges will appear in court over the next three months.