DRUG DEALER RULING COULD AFFECT CRIME IN CANADA

Man Fears Return To Iran

TORONTO - The fate of an Iranian drug dealer was on the line yesterday as
the Supreme Court of Canada heard from two suspected terrorists claiming
they should not be deported because they might be tortured.

While the Supreme Court arguments focused on the accused terrorists,
Mansour Ahani and Manickavasagam Suresh, a lesser-known case likewise hangs
in the balance -- that of Jamshid Farhadi, a convicted heroin and cocaine
trafficker.

Mr. Farhadi has appealed his deportation to the Supreme Court on the same
grounds as Mr. Ahani and Mr. Suresh: that Canada would be violating his
human rights if it sent him home to Iran because he might be tortured.

Government lawyers have argued Canada will become a haven for terrorists if
the court overturns the deportations of Mr. Ahani and Mr. Suresh and allows
them to stay. But the Farhadi case shows the ruling could have a broader
impact, opening Canada's doors to dangerous criminals as well.

Soon after coming to Canada as a refugee, Mr. Farhadi was convicted of drug
trafficking and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Citizenship and
Immigration Canada said he was "directly linked to a sophisticated
international drug ring.

"The organization was responsible for importing heroin, opium and cocaine
at the multi-kilogram level with a conservative street value of $100,000.
His motivation for these activities was purely greed," a Canadian
immigration official wrote.

The official said the chances of a repeat offence were "high."

During Mr. Farhadi's sentencing, the judge noted that "without
sophisticated organizations like this one, cocaine and other such narcotics
would not be brought into Canada."

Mr. Farhadi has denied the drug charges and said he fears returning to Iran
because, he claims, he had been arrested, beaten and tortured there for his
labour union activity in the 1980s.

The government agreed there was a chance he might be tortured but said he
should be sent home anyway. The government declared him a danger to the
Canadian public and ordered his deportation in 1996.

The case went to the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal
and has now been brought to the Supreme Court. The federal government did
not oppose his application to the Supreme Court because the case concerns
the same issues as the Suresh and Ahani cases.