DRUG DEALER SAYS HE HAD NO CHOICE

A convicted drug trafficker who said death threats made him do it is
the victim of a Charter violation, his defence counsel argued yesterday.

Lawyer Balfour Der said criminal code provisions limiting the defence
of duress should be declared unconstitutional.

But Crown prosecutor Goran Tomljanovic said if the Court of Appeal
strikes down the law, it will be inviting anarchy.

"Quite frankly, there's no reason why duress would not be a defence to
any offence -- including murder," Tomljanovic told a three-member
appeal panel.

"Duress requires a minimal level of courage from our citizens," he
said.

"If not, any citizen could submit to any threat to carry out any
crime."

Der's client, Shane Robert Keller, 23, was convicted of possession of
LSD for the purpose of trafficking after he was nabbed at the airport
picking up a shipment.

Keller said he feared being murdered by a behemoth drug dealer and his
skin head henchmen if he didn't retrieve the drugs.

He testified a dealer named Sean -- whom he described as at least 6
ft. 7 in., with multi-colored hair and a multi-pierced body --
threatened to kill him if he didn't co-operate.

The appeal court reserved judgment.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry