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Hearings held for Gunship defendants

Jessica Gray
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 15/06) - Three suspects arrested in a massive crack-cocaine sweep last October were in court Wednesday morning to start a three-day preliminary inquiry.

Michael Fraser, Sandra Gellenbeck, and Chandra Mudaliar are all charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Gellenbeck is also charged with possessing cocaine.

Each sat with their lawyers in a territorial courtroom, which was drastically changed to accommodate the number of accused. The defence area was enlarged to allow each defendant a separate table. Several benches in the general seating area for the public were also removed.

Territorial court judge Bernadette Schmaltz is hearing their cases. A publication ban covers the evidence presented in court.

Two others arrested in the October raid, Ken Wong and Dan Vermeulen, opted to waive their right to a preliminary hearing and will be in court to seek a trial date at a yet undetermined date.

Vermeulen is charged with a single count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

Wong, the former owner of the defunct Right Spot Bar and Grill, faces the most charges - five counts of conspiracy to traffic cocaine.

A sixth man, Hoa Hien Ngo, will be back in court for his preliminary inquiry on Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. because he is requesting a Cantonese or Vietnamese interpreter.

Following the preliminary hearing, Schmaltz will decide if there is enough evidence to order the men to stand trial. They have all pleaded not guilty.

They were arrested following a city-wide raid - code-named Operation Gunship - that saw dozens of police officers descend on three local business and several homes.