News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Date Rape Drug Nets Man Three Years In Jail |
| Title: | CN BC: Date Rape Drug Nets Man Three Years In Jail |
| Published On: | 2002-09-25 |
| Source: | Vancouver Sun (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-29 15:45:13 |
DATE RAPE DRUG NETS MAN THREE YEARS IN JAIL
A Police Raid Turned up 4,300 Doses of Rohypnol
A North Vancouver man was sentenced Tuesday to a maximum three-year
prison sentence for importing thousands of doses of the date rape drug
rohypnol.
It was the largest seizure of the drug in Canada.
Normand Bisson, 50, a commercial painter who had no previous criminal
record, was also sentenced to a concurrent three-year term for
possessing more than $1 million in cash that the drug dealer admitted
was proceeds of crime.
During a 1999 raid on Bisson's home at 867 Whitchurch in North
Vancouver, police found $1,037,860 stuffed into duffel bags. The money
will be forfeited to the Crown.
Police also seized crack cocaine, marijuana, hashish, two unregistered
handguns -- a .38-calibre and a .22-calibre -- and a loaded shotgun.
But the most unusual find for police was 4,300 pills of rohypnol. At
$40 a pill, police said the illegal drug had a street value of about
$170,000.
Rohypnol is a Schedule 3 substance in Canada, much like speed, which
cannot be imported or trafficked. Importing it carries a maximum
penalty of three years in prison.
Rohypnol is referred to as the "date rape" drug because it is an
odourless, colourless and tasteless tranquilizer. If dropped in a
drink, it cannot be detected and causes temporary amnesia, which means
that a woman would not remember if she was sexually assaulted while on
the drug, which is not manufactured or marketed in Canada or the U.S.
It is classified as "central nervous system depressant" that is part
of the benzodiazepine drug family. It slows the body down in much the
same way as alcohol, only much more quickly. It can be up to 10 times
more powerful than Valium.
During a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Bisson's lawyer said his client
had bought the rohypnol from a friend in Mexico to alleviate his back
pain.
"He never intended to sell it," Greg Delbigio told B.C. Supreme Court
Justice Nicole Garson.
Rohypnol is a brand name for flunitrazepam. The pills, sometimes
called "roofies," are legally sold in Europe and Mexico to treat insomnia.
Bisson was also found to be linked to three marijuana growing
operations, including one in the 100-block of Glenmore Drive in West
Vancouver, where police seized 199 marijuana plants and $5,000 cash.
Police conservatively estimated that the Glenmore growing operation
was producing $85,790 worth of marijuana -- if sold at the wholesale
level -- every three months, prosecutor Dave Greenbank said Tuesday at
Bisson's sentencing hearing at the Vancouver Law Court.
Police originally found in Bisson's home rent receipts, in Bisson's
name, for the three grow operations, which led police to obtain
further search warrants.
The two other operations were in the 2600-block Mountain Highway,
where police seized 156 marijuana plants and 7.5 kg of harvested
marijuana, and in the 4000-block of Skyline Drive, where hydroponic
equipment and half a kilogram of pot were seized.
Bisson initially came to police attention in 1998 when he sold
undercover officers cocaine during an investigation that targeted
North Vancouver bars.
In addition to the rohypnol and proceeds of crime counts for which he
received the three-year sentence, he also received a concurrent
sentence for trafficking in cocaine, marijuana and possessing
unregistered weapons.
Bisson grew up in Quebec and moved to B.C. in 1992 after his 20-year
marriage ended in divorce. He has a son and daughter in their 20s. His
pregnant daughter has been receiving financial support from Bisson.
Bisson had been working for M&L Painting, which has offered to rehire
him once he is released from prison, the drug dealer's lawyer told the
court.
Delbigio pointed out that a three-year sentence was very severe for a
first-time offender, but the prison term was accepted by Bisson as
part of a plea agreement that was finalized after lengthy discussions
between the Crown and defence.
The defence is still seeking to have about $80,000 of the seized cash
exempted from being forfeited to the Crown in order to pay Bisson's
estimated $60,000 in legal fees. A hearing on that matter will be held
Oct. 18.
A Police Raid Turned up 4,300 Doses of Rohypnol
A North Vancouver man was sentenced Tuesday to a maximum three-year
prison sentence for importing thousands of doses of the date rape drug
rohypnol.
It was the largest seizure of the drug in Canada.
Normand Bisson, 50, a commercial painter who had no previous criminal
record, was also sentenced to a concurrent three-year term for
possessing more than $1 million in cash that the drug dealer admitted
was proceeds of crime.
During a 1999 raid on Bisson's home at 867 Whitchurch in North
Vancouver, police found $1,037,860 stuffed into duffel bags. The money
will be forfeited to the Crown.
Police also seized crack cocaine, marijuana, hashish, two unregistered
handguns -- a .38-calibre and a .22-calibre -- and a loaded shotgun.
But the most unusual find for police was 4,300 pills of rohypnol. At
$40 a pill, police said the illegal drug had a street value of about
$170,000.
Rohypnol is a Schedule 3 substance in Canada, much like speed, which
cannot be imported or trafficked. Importing it carries a maximum
penalty of three years in prison.
Rohypnol is referred to as the "date rape" drug because it is an
odourless, colourless and tasteless tranquilizer. If dropped in a
drink, it cannot be detected and causes temporary amnesia, which means
that a woman would not remember if she was sexually assaulted while on
the drug, which is not manufactured or marketed in Canada or the U.S.
It is classified as "central nervous system depressant" that is part
of the benzodiazepine drug family. It slows the body down in much the
same way as alcohol, only much more quickly. It can be up to 10 times
more powerful than Valium.
During a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Bisson's lawyer said his client
had bought the rohypnol from a friend in Mexico to alleviate his back
pain.
"He never intended to sell it," Greg Delbigio told B.C. Supreme Court
Justice Nicole Garson.
Rohypnol is a brand name for flunitrazepam. The pills, sometimes
called "roofies," are legally sold in Europe and Mexico to treat insomnia.
Bisson was also found to be linked to three marijuana growing
operations, including one in the 100-block of Glenmore Drive in West
Vancouver, where police seized 199 marijuana plants and $5,000 cash.
Police conservatively estimated that the Glenmore growing operation
was producing $85,790 worth of marijuana -- if sold at the wholesale
level -- every three months, prosecutor Dave Greenbank said Tuesday at
Bisson's sentencing hearing at the Vancouver Law Court.
Police originally found in Bisson's home rent receipts, in Bisson's
name, for the three grow operations, which led police to obtain
further search warrants.
The two other operations were in the 2600-block Mountain Highway,
where police seized 156 marijuana plants and 7.5 kg of harvested
marijuana, and in the 4000-block of Skyline Drive, where hydroponic
equipment and half a kilogram of pot were seized.
Bisson initially came to police attention in 1998 when he sold
undercover officers cocaine during an investigation that targeted
North Vancouver bars.
In addition to the rohypnol and proceeds of crime counts for which he
received the three-year sentence, he also received a concurrent
sentence for trafficking in cocaine, marijuana and possessing
unregistered weapons.
Bisson grew up in Quebec and moved to B.C. in 1992 after his 20-year
marriage ended in divorce. He has a son and daughter in their 20s. His
pregnant daughter has been receiving financial support from Bisson.
Bisson had been working for M&L Painting, which has offered to rehire
him once he is released from prison, the drug dealer's lawyer told the
court.
Delbigio pointed out that a three-year sentence was very severe for a
first-time offender, but the prison term was accepted by Bisson as
part of a plea agreement that was finalized after lengthy discussions
between the Crown and defence.
The defence is still seeking to have about $80,000 of the seized cash
exempted from being forfeited to the Crown in order to pay Bisson's
estimated $60,000 in legal fees. A hearing on that matter will be held
Oct. 18.
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