KUGLUKTUK COUNCIL SAYS SENTENCES TOO LENIENT

Kugluktuk's Hamlet Council Says They Are Getting No Help From The Court
System In Cleaning Up The Community's Program.

IQALUIT - Hamlet officials, RCMP members and residents of Kugluktuk are
outraged over the sentences two drug dealers received last week.

Last Thursday Nunavut court justice Beverly Browne gave Colin Nick Junior
Adjun, 34, an eight-month conditional sentence for a drug-related offense.

Adjun was arrested in Yellowknife on July 9, 1999 and charged with
possession for the intent of trafficking after he was found with 228 grams
of marijuana on his body. This quantity of marijuana has a street value of
$20,000 in Kugluktuk.

Harold (aka Maffa) Anablak, 22, received a one-day jail sentence and a
$1150 fine for possession of seven joints of marijuana and around $200 in
cash found on him last year. Anablak fulfilled the jail sentenc during his
short detainment as he waited for his court appearance.

"He walked out of the courtroom laughing," said RCMP constable Mark
Crowther. "He wasn't upset, despite a courtroom full of people with their
jaws on the floor."

Crowther said local drug dealers had reportedly been "running scared"
before the court judgment.

"Kugluktuk has a drug trafficking battle," Crowther said. "We're working
very hard here. We're putting the charges into the court, so it's very
frustrating. You spend hundreds of hours and then they get to court and you
have Kugluktuk standing behind you and then the sentence is handed down.
There's the disappointment."

On Monday, Kugluktuk's hamlet council passed a resolution condemning the
court's apparent approval of drug trafficking in the community.

The council intends to send a letter of complaint to Nunavut's Department
of Justice.

"As community leaders, we're trying hard to show our kids it's not right to
do drugs or bootleg, and the judge is saying it's okay," Kugluktuk Mayor
Joanne Taptuna said.