Yellowknife (Oct 31/03) - A Yellowknife woman on trial for cocaine possession let go a sigh of relief Wednesday when a judge threw the case against her out of court on a pair of technicalities.

Chief Judge Michel Bourassa ruled the crown failed to follow proper procedure and excluded the most compelling evidence against Maria Carlos -- 0.8 grams of crack-cocaine police discovered in her pockets after her arrest.

"Without the (evidence), the crown's case is in serious trouble," said Bourassa in dismissing the charges.

Police seized the drugs after arresting Carlos at the Gold Range on April 2, and sent them to a crime lab for analysis.

The lab confirmed the drugs were cocaine, but according to the rules of evidence, Crown attorney Alex Bernard was required to turn the analysis over to the defence, which he did not.

As a result, Bourassa excluded the evidence.

The judge also ruled police did not have "reasonable" grounds to arrest Carlos in the first place.

According to testimony in court, a paid informant told police Carlos was trying to sell drugs in the Gold Range.

RCMP Const. Fred Ritchie said he went to the Range and arrested Carlos on the "suspicion of trafficking" -- a choice of words that would sink the prosecution's case.

After a search, Carlos was charged for possession of a controlled substance.

Defence lawyer James Brydon said police circumvented the law by using the first arrest as a springboard to the second.

"They did not have reasonable and probable grounds for the first arrest," he said.

Bourassa agreed.

"In drug cases the procedure is very important," the judge said. "It must be followed."