MOTHER-DAUGHTER TEAM HELD IN CUSTODY

Project Cleopatra; Suspected Ringleader 'High Risk' To Commit New Crimes: Crown

A mother and daughter team accused of drug trafficking stood shoulder
to shoulder yesterday as they appeared in court to face charges they
were part of a million-dollar smuggling ring.

Sharon Simon, 48, and her daughter Annie Arbic, 21, were among 12
people who appeared before Quebec Court Judge Micheline Dufour in
Laval for the first time since being arrested in Project Cleopatra,
an RCMP investigation so named because its main target is considered
a powerful, wealthy woman in Quebec's criminal underworld.

Dufour ordered Simon and Arbic held in custody until a bail hearing,
scheduled for July 5.

Simon, a Kanesatake resident, is alleged to have run a vast smuggling
network that shipped 40 to 50 kilograms of marijuana, as well as some
ecstasy, to the U.S. per week.

"According to the evidence we have, (Simon) lived this life daily,
without holding down another job. We estimate she represents a high
risk to commit another crime. Plus, there is the nature of the
charges," federal crown prosecutor Christian Jarry said, outlining
his objections to Simon's release.

Both mother and daughter appeared relaxed in the prisoners' dock.
They smiled as they quietly consulted with defence lawyer Jean Daniel
Deboski. And as Arbic headed back to her holding cell, she smiled and
blew kisses to a group of young women seated in the courtroom.

Also appearing before Dufour was Pascal Leclerc, 27. Jarry opposed
his release, as well; Leclerc was ordered held in custody.

When the RCMP raided Leclerc's home in Ste. Therese on Wednesday,
they discovered a secret room with a door that could be opened only
by remote control. The Mounties found a small stockpile of firearms
in the room.

The RCMP alleged that Simon has close ties to several members of the
Hells Angels in Quebec. While no member of the outlaw motorcycle gang
was among the 36 arrested Wednesday, details emerged yesterday to
indicate the gang was associated with the network.

According to an RCMP source, a "full-patch" member of the gang was
found inside Arbic's apartment in Laval when the Mounties went
knocking early Wednesday.

Also, Carl Thomas, 44, a former Memphremagog police officer arrested
in Project Cleopatra, once testified in court in support of a member
of the Hells Angels' Sherbrooke chapter.

Thomas, a member of the Eastern Townships police force between 1994
and 2000 appeared in a Sherbrooke courtroom yesterday along with nine
other people arrested in Project Cleopatra. They were all ordered to
remain in custody until Wednesday.

Simon and most of the people who appeared in Laval yesterday face a
conspiracy charge that encompasses four criminal acts; trafficking,
possession of marijuana with the intent to traffic, possession of the
proceeds of crime and money laundering.

Thomas also faces a similar all-encompassing conspiracy charge in Sherbrooke.

Simon and Thomas face other charges, including one accusing Simon of
committing crimes for the benefit of a criminal organization, or gangsterism.

Some of the other people arrested were released after agreeing to
make a $5,000 deposit and agreeing to several conditions, including
that they keep away from a money exchange counter on St. Laurent
Blvd. in Montreal.

Simon is alleged to have laundered $4.8 million U.S. in less than
five months through transactions made at money exchange counters.