Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 08/00) - A drug trafficking charge against a 21-year-old Yellowknife male was dropped in territorial court Tuesday.
The man, included in last month's Operation Guiness raid, was not in court for the decision.
Defense lawyer Jim Brydon later said insufficient evidence may explain why the Crown withdrew the trafficking charge against his client. "He's maintained his innocence all along," Brydon said.
His client, who recently spoke to Yellowknifer on the condition of anonymity, was one of 70 suspects -- 45 from Yellowknife -- swept into police custody during a province-wide crackdown on local drug traffickers.
It appears the 21-year-old man, who admits to a previous but minor Narcotic Act violation, may have been wrongly accused. Crown counsel Sue Kendall said additional charges against "some" of the Operation Guiness accused have been withdrawn since the mass arrests on Nov.15.
She refused to say how many or why the charges were dropped.
The cases continue to be heard in territorial court. Staff Sgt. Dave Grundy said at least one additional person has been charged since the mid-November bust. He said more Operation Guiness arrests are pending.
