ALLEGED DRUG DEALER'S AGE 'SIGN OF THE TIMES'

Seniors Not Surprised At 82-Year-Old's Arrest

Times are tough.

That was the threadbare sentiment at the sewing club at the Winfield
Seniors Centre yesterday, where the chit-chat centred around the
arrest of an 82-year-old Lake Country man for his alleged part in
smuggling more than 27 kilograms of heroin into Canada worth an
estimated $8 million to $11 million.

"It really doesn't surprise me -- everybody is tapped out," said
resident Debbie Andrew. "Maybe it's a sign of the times. I doubt he is
a heroin dealer but where does an 80-year-old go to find a job these
days?"

Over at the Branch 55 Seniors Centre in nearby Kelowna, Brian Burnell
took time out from a card game to give his two cents on the arrest of
Donald Andrew Stewart.

"The price of everything has gone sky-high -- gas, food, you name it,"
said Burnell, 77. "It's hard when you are on a pension to make ends
meet."

Stewart and three Ontario men -- Tran Van Dinh, 42, Quyen Ngoc Thuyen
Nguyen, 39, and Vinh Thanh Nguyen, 47 -- are charged with importation
of heroin, possession for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy to
import heroin.

On Oct. 22, Canadian Border Services Agency officers in Halifax
intercepted a shipping container from Pakistan. An X-ray showed an
anomaly in 81 cardboard boxes in a shipment of 430 boxes filled with
towels.

"The heroin was packed in aluminum sheeting and hidden in the walls of
the boxes," said RCMP Sgt. Marc LaPorte. "We removed the drugs from
the container and allowed it to continue."

The container was shipped to a Toronto-area business where four men
showed up on Oct. 29 and left with the 81 boxes. They were arrested
soon after.

Two days later, police searched an Ajax, Ont., home and found a live
hand grenade, ammunition and documentation relating to the shipment.

LaPorte said it is the biggest bust in about 15 years -- enough for
270,000 doses.

"Twenty-seven kilos is not seized on a regular basis," LaPorte said.
"We have seized larger amounts but in those cases we could not tie
bodies to the drugs." The heroin is 75-per-cent pure.

Police aren't sure of the final destination for the heroin or what
would make a senior allegedly get involved.

"I have not seen such an old person be charged with such a serious
offence," LaPorte said. "He's come a long way to associate with these
people."

Stewart is in custody. His next court appearance is Nov.
20.

Stewart was given a conditional discharge and seven months' probation
for a 2006 assault charge.