Maria Canton
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 19/99) - A chicken coop caught on fire early Monday morning after a lamp ignited the hay at the bottom of the one-room shelter.

The owner of the Nuttal Court coop in Yellowknife had already extinguished the flames by the time the fire department arrived on the scene and all of the chickens had been moved outside.

None of the chickens were injured and damage is estimated at $100.

Golden arches break-in

McDonalds Restaurant reported a break and enter last Tuesday, in which several electronic items were stolen.

The thieves entered the Frame Lake south restaurant and then climbed through the ceiling panels and dropped into an office where they took a VCR, laptop computer and CD player, sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on May 11.

The incident remains under investigation and RCMP and Crimestoppers are looking for any information pertaining to it.

RCMP foot patrol nabs drugs

A Yellowknife man was apprehended by the RCMP foot patrol last Friday night after the three-officer-team allegedly witnessed a drug transaction taking place.

A quarter ounce of marijuana and two marijuana joints were found by officers after a search of the suspect and his vehicle was conducted.

Charges of trafficking in a controlled substance have been laid and the man is scheduled to appear in court on July 7.

Foot patrol lays possession charges

Two men were arrested Friday night after a search by two RCMP officers on foot patrol revealed a quantity of marijuana.

The men, aged 18 and 21, are slated to appear in court on July 7 to face possession of a controlled substance.

Mail order cigarettes

An Ontario company has been circulating cigarette order forms to Northern communities, RCMP say.

Because the popular Canadian cigarette brands being offered are marked for sale in Ontario and not the North, it is an offence under the Federal Tobacco Act.

Fines can range as high as $300,000 upon conviction and persons found importing the cigarettes can be assessed up to three times the tax owing, according to the Territorial Tobacco Tax.

Ironically, the tax collected from tobacco is used for government health programs.