MAKING THE RIGHT MOVE

We're often quick to criticize the courts when they hand down lenient
sentences.

So it's only fair that we praise them when they take firm action to
protect the public.

That's exactly what happened in Sarnia court Monday, when a Brampton
trucker was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug smuggling.

In this country, where you almost have to kill someone before you're
locked up for any length of time, it was harsh punishment indeed.

But it was well deserved. Gian Singh Sandhu had hauled 52 kilograms
of cocaine worth an estimated $5 million across the border from the U. S.

The Crown had sought 15 years and the defence had argued for four.

Superior Court Justice John Desotti could hardly have justified a
15-year term when you consider many murderers get only 10. Had he
handed down such a stiff penalty, it might well have been reduced on appeal.

But the judge wasn't going to take a kid-glove approach either. As he
correctly pointed out, seven years was necessary to denounce and
deter international drug smuggling.

Truck drivers are often recruited because the volume of vehicles
means few can be searched at the border for drugs. If every truck was
searched, countless loads of perishable produce would be lost.

So when one is caught, it's important to come down hard on him or
her, if only to deter others of like mind.

If we have any concern about how this case was handled, it's the time
it took to bring it to a conclusion. Sandhu was arrested in July
2003. Five years is a long time to bring someone to justice.