COP ON DRUG CHARGES

Peel Officer Allegedly Sold Ecstasy

A 13-year Peel police officer and a civilian have been charged after
allegedly dealing the drug Ecstasy to undercover internal affairs
cops.

The officer, who was already suspended from duty on unrelated assault
charges, was arrested yesterday in his Bolton home and charged with
two counts of trafficking a controlled substance and possession of
proceeds of crime.

Sgt. John Betts, a spokesman for the Peel Regional Police, said the
charges have shamed the department and police everywhere.

"Sure, it's an embarrassment," Betts said. "But we want the public to
know that police officers are dealt with in the same way a member of
the public would be."

Betts said any complaints filed by citizens, like in this case, are
followed up and fully investigated. And if the evidence warrants it,
appropriate charges are laid, he said.

"That person will be fully investigated and charged accordingly," said Betts.

"They are dealt with like anybody else."

Suspended In May

Before he was suspended in May for an unrelated assault involving a
shoplifter late last year, the officer worked as a uniformed patrol
constable in 12 Division.

Between July 12 and Aug. 20, internal affairs officers made at least
four Ecstasy buys from two men on the street.

Betts said the dealers were never together when the drugs were
purchased, but "they are believed to be associated." How much of the
drug police bought was not released to protect the investigation, he
said.

The officer did not use any contacts he made while working as a
policeman to further his alleged drug enterprise, and the product he
allegedly sold did not come from the police evidence lockup, Betts
said.

The officer remains suspended with pay.

Ecstasy, or MDMA, popular in the rave scene, is usually sold in pill
form at a cost of $20 to $35 per pill.

Const. Christopher Walpole, 34, appeared in a Brampton court
yesterday and was expected to be released on a $10,000 surety.

Philip Smagranov, 26, of Mississauga, is also charged with two counts
of possession of a controlled substance.