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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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DECEMBER 18, 2014 | Volume 27 No. 150
ANATOMY OF A COCAINE NETWORK IN KAMLOOPS CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
The structure of a cocaine network operating in Kamloops two years ago has been revealed during a sentence hearing in B.C. Supreme Court. Jean-Claude Auger pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking for his role as a wholesale supplier to a dial-a-dope network operating in Kamloops in 2012. Lawyers made arguments during Auger’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Following months of surveillance and wiretaps, RCMP raided Auger’s home on Kimberley Crescent on the North Shore in October 2012. They found what Crown prosecutor John Walker called a wholesale operation with “a level of sophistication and a highdegree of success.” Police found 1.3 ounces of cocaine, $140,000 in cash stashed in a wall, 11 cellphones, a scale, a money counter and more than 32 grams of a chemical used to cut cocaine. Walker told Justice Hope Hyslop that Auger was earning so much money supplying a dial-a-dope network operated by Richard Arthur Crawford, along with his “manager,” Steven Lloyd Currie, that Auger laughed when Crawford kept asking if he would be able to “get by” after one of the operators lost a few thousand dollars that couldn’t be paid back right away. Walker said Crawford even offered to reduce his profit in order to pay Auger the money he owed for cocaine by taking no profit until it was paid off. “Yeah, I’ll get by,’” Auger told Crawford on the intercepted call. He could then be heard chuckling, Walker said. “We know why he was chuckling,” said Walker, who argued that Auger be given a six-year federal sentence. “The amount Mr. Crawford owed was so small compared to what he [Auger] had on hand . . . Mr Auger had more than $100,000 stashed in the wall of his house.”
Defence lawyer Chris Thompson called Auger “a chemist” rather than a wholesale drug dealer, something he said was obvious from the amount of cutting agent used to dilute cocaine. Thompson argued Auger should serve no jail time and instead be given a condition sentence order, which typically involves house arrest. The measure is available because the offences predate changes made by the Conservative government to toughen drug laws. The defence also made the unusual move of having Auger’s therapist give evidence about his extensive efforts at counselling and rehabilitation. The result of that rehabilitation effort is more than 70 short videos, available on the Internet, of Auger talking about his life of crime and motivation for profit in the drug trade, which clinical counsellor
• Others go to trial in 2015 • Auger was identified by accident • About those Internet videos Pages A6 and A7 Michael Koehn testified was the result of low selfesteem. “When you are in the drug trade, you are not authentic,” Koehn testified. Koehn was also scheduled to show some of the videos of Auger’s rehabilitation in court. In addition, Auger, a martial-arts instructor, has made public presentations exposing and renouncing his former life. “Mr. Auger is not the same person he was,” Thompson said. “He’s done tremendous work.” Hyslop is expected to give her sentencing decision at a later date. Auger was convicted after a trial in 2013 of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm for an incident outside a Westsyde pub. He also has a record from the early 1990s of drug possession and dangerous driving. While Auger was pardoned for those offences, his conviction for the assault charges means they goes back on the books.
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BCLC HQ WILL REMAIN IN KAMLOOPS
B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong was in Kamloops yesterday (Dec. 17) to talk about the recent review of the B.C. Lottery Corporation. De Jong said the headquarters of the corporation will remain in Kamloops. For more on the Abbotsford MLA’s visit, read the story on page A5.
Ajax comment period ends CAM FORTEMS
STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
It’s not intended to be a vote, but opinions on the proposed Ajax mine — rather than questions — dominate responses submitted to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO). Today (Dec. 18) marks the final day public comments can be submitted to the EAO. The federal-provincial harmonized comprehensive environmental assessment opened up a second public-comment period last month, following criticism it had not
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responded to changes in the proposed mine footprint. KGHM Ajax now proposes to move operations south of the pit, away from the city. The comment period is intended to guide the application information requirements (AIR) document — a so-called table of contents used to list studies the company must do. The EAO’s most recent public comment section on Ajax lists about 220 individual responses on the revised mine plan. In about half of the entries, respondents express clear unhappiness with the mine proposal.
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KAMLOOPS LOCATIONS!
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