FIVE CONVICTED OF DRUG CHARGES AFTER TOP COURT OKS WIRETAPPING

A drug case that was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada in December
2000 and sent back to Victoria provincial court resulted Tuesday in
convictions of four men and a woman.

Neil Grandmaison along with Angela Aroujo, Victor Camara, Mikel Oulton and
Robert Jenkins -- all of the Victoria area -- have been found guilty of
conspiring to traffic in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and other charges.

Their trial has been held intermittently since Oct. 1, 2001. On Tuesday,
provincial court Judge Ann Ehrcke announced the convictions and gave her
reasons for the judgment.

The convictions are the closing of another chapter in a long legal battle
which commenced Oct. 25, 1995, with police raids on four homes in Victoria,
Burnaby and Vancouver. Drugs, cash, handguns and vehicles were seized.

About 40 Victoria police and RCMP took part in an eight-month investigation
dubbed "Project Egbert" which focused on drugs being smuggled from South
America to the Lower Mainland and capital region.

Drugs such as cocaine and anabolic steroids were distributed at the street
level and to schools.

The group was first acquitted in December 1996 when a judge said the
wiretap evidence could not be used in court. A subsequent appeal to the
Supreme Court of Canada threw out the acquittal and ordered a new trial
with the inclusion of wiretap evidence.

Judge Louis LeBel of the top court ruled that wiretapping is highly
intrusive "and a judge should protect citizens against unwanted fishing
expeditions by the state."

But there are times when there is no other option, he said. Police wishing
to use wiretaps need to prove to the courts "there is no reasonable
alternative method of investigation, in the circumstances of the particular
criminal inquiry."

The wiretap evidence presented at this second provincial court trial was
"voluminous," said Ehrcke. The transcripts of taped conversations filled
five binders and consisted of more than 400 calls and messages.

"The evidence is not consistent with any rational explanation other than
their trafficking cocaine in Victoria," said Ehrcke.

Police began recording telephone conversations of the suspected drug ring
in June 1995. The conversations were often guarded and often involved
arranging meetings on short notice.

Multiple pager messages were also recorded, many in a form of code.

"I am satisfied from the evidence, including expert evidence respecting the
trading of cocaine and prices at the time that the codes referred to order
amounts and prices for cocaine," said Ehrcke in her written judgment.

Conversations between the group were frequent and tended to be vague, she said.

"Meetings occurred on the spur of the moment and were often very short --
too short for normal social activity. No purpose was stated for many
meetings. Meetings were delayed for unexplained or vague reasons."

Pager messages Oulton and Araujo sent to Grandmaison were consistent for
orders of cocaine, including amounts in ounces, prices and telephone or
pager numbers.

The group will be sentenced May 30.