SEAT-BELT CHECK NETS MARIJUANA, 20 MONTHS

The lure of easy money for transporting 25 kilograms of marijuana is
sending a father of five to jail.

Abraham Peters of Leamington was sentenced yesterday to 20 months in
jail and two years probation after pleading guilty to possession of
marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The marijuana is believed to have come from Mexico via a smuggling
pipeline, involving Leamington and area residents, that has been the
subject of several police drug investigations.

Peters, 30, was simply taking the marijuana from one location in Essex
County to another, his lawyer Dan Soulliere said.

The couple and their children were living "hand to mouth" when Peters
was arrested by police Sept. 23, 1998, court was told.

Justice Micheline Rawlins said that didn't justify Peters's role in
putting illicit drugs on the street.

"Mr. Peters, desperate times make people do desperate things, but
desperate things in our society don't include putting other people at
risk," the judge said.

Peters was driving a van when he was stopped during a routine
seat-belt check.

Behind the driver's seat officers discovered a loose gas tank
containing two metal canisters packed with marijuana.