JUDGE PONDERS DRUG SENTENCE

Convicted in the largest drug exportation scheme involving this
province, a 40-year-old man will wait until March while a judge mulls
over the right sentence for the unprecedented case.

In sentencing submissions Tuesday, the Crown suggested Daren Wayne
Smith should serve in excess of 10 years behind bars, while the
defence argued four years would be more than sufficient.

"If we are to maintain confidence in the administration of justice and
send a signal to other members of the public, a low-range sentence
will not do," contended Al McIntyre, agent for the federal Crown.

But defence lawyer Glenn Orris urged the judge to consider Smith's
role and suggested he was "controlled by higher-ups."

"He was pressured to do what he did," he later added.

Justice Ted Zarzeczny will have his say March 27, when he sentences
Smith and also rules on a constitutional challenge that could see some
of the charges quashed.

On Dec. 16, a jury convicted Smith of seven charges stemming from an
investigation dubbed "Project Farwest." RCMP uncovered a scheme that
saw large shipments of high-grade "B.C. bud" marijuana packed in
hockey bags and hauled across the Saskatchewan-U.S. border in vehicles
rented by Smith.

The jury found Smith guilty of possession of marijuana for the purpose
of exporting, exporting marijuana, possession for the purpose of
trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, and two criminal
organization charges. The offences occurred between July 1, 2001 and
June 22, 2002.

The scheme was uncovered on June 20, 2002 at an illegal border
crossing near Lake Alma in southern Saskatchewan when a U.S. border
patrol officer stopped a van carrying 391 pounds of pot packaged in
Ziploc bags. The drugs, packed in nine hockey bags, were worth more
than $1 million.

The trial heard from three key Crown witnesses who said Smith hired
and paid them to haul drugs from B.C. to Saskatchewan and into the
U.S. via the illegal border crossing in Saskatchewan. The drugs were
off-loaded in Montana, Washington and California. Court heard of about
a dozen trips, with the Crown arguing as much as 5,000 pounds of pot
were shipped. When authorities raided his Abbotsford, B.C., home two
days later, they found a suitcase filled with $568,170 Cdn and
$111,920 US.

McIntyre said that while one other Saskatchewan case saw a larger
single drug seizure, this involved the largest number of transactions
with the largest quantity overall. He urged the judge to "send a
message that this type of criminal activity will not be tolerated."

McIntyre added some may argue marijuana is a "soft drug," but that's
irrelevant given the volumes of money and drugs involved. "There are
no mitigating factors for this accused," he said, calling the
operation "sophisticated."

But Orris disagreed. "It was an operation that was not clandestine in
any way," he said. Orris noted Smith rented the vehicles in his own
name and "there was no attempt to hide the money." While he conceded
there was a "substantial" amount of money made, he said Smith didn't
benefit from all of it.

"This is not drugs -- marijuana -- that was Mr. Smith's. He was moving
them for someone else," Orris told the court.

Orris said any sentence will have a "devastating" effect on Smith's
wife and two daughters.

A portion of the seized cash has been used to pay for Smith's defence.
The Crown is expected to bring an application to have the remainder of
the money forfeited to the Crown.