Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 07/04) - An employee of the Diner, a downtown restaurant, has been fined $920 for possession of cocaine.

Quyen My Huyhn, who moved to Canada from Vietnam last year, pleaded guilty to simple possession, March 30 in NWT territorial court.

Huyhn was arrested by police on Nov. 21 last year, while they executed a search warrant at the Diner based on a tip from a confidential informant, said Crown attorney Shannon Smallwood.

Police found two packages of crack weighing a total of about one gram, said Smallwood. The drugs had a street value of roughly $120 to $150.

Huyhn's lawyer, Robert Gorin, told the court his client was given the cocaine to hold for someone else.

"It's not uncommon for people to go to jail for something like this," said Judge Brian Bruser.