Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Friday, June 15, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A third suspect charged in connection with a 2005 cocaine crackdown has been sentenced.

Chandra Mudaliar was sentenced Tuesday in the Supreme Court to three years in prison for conspiracy to traffic cocaine. He pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month.

He is one 11 people charged out of the city-wide crackdown - codenamed Project Gunship - which resulted in the closing of the Right Spot pub. More than 30 people were arrested in the sweep.

"The illegal cocaine trade in Yellowknife is a scourge and a plague that has infested the social fabric of this community in recent years," said Chief Justice Ted Richard.

He described Mudaliar as a "courier" who worked in the cocaine trade at the "wholesale level," bringing drugs from southern Canada to feed the demand in Yellowknife.

"It cannot be said a courier is on the periphery of the drug trade," he said. "This crime is not a victimless crime."

However, Richard also acknowledged that no actual trafficking took place in this case.

Mudaliar admitted that, in 2005, he traveled to Vancouver with the intention of purchasing a kilogram of cocaine for $30,000. However, when the money didn't come through, Mudaliar came home empty-handed.

Richard also read a statement from the 38-year-old Fijian immigrant, who has lived in Canada for nearly 18 years:

"I apologize for the role I played in the cocaine drug trade in Yellowknife," the statement read. "I take full responsibility for my actions that have caused a great deal of devastation."

Richard also said Mudaliar had a clean record, other than a 10-year-old drinking and driving conviction.

With these factors taken into account, Richard recommended three years in prison for Mudaliar, shortened to 18 months to account for time aleady served.

Mudaliar has been in custody since September 2006, after violating the conditions of his previous release by traveling to Kugluktuk without giving notice.

Defence counsel Margo Nightingale and Crown Council Shelley Tkatch did not make any statements during the sentencing.

Mudaliar is the third person to be convicted in connection with the October 2005 Gunship drug sweep.

In April, Tom Desjarlais, 63, was sentenced to a year in jail. Michael Fraser was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail in February.

Another suspect, former Right Spot owner Ken Wong, charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine is scheduled to appear in court July 9.