POLICE SAY THEY'RE BAFFLED BY SUGGESTION DRUG SUSPECT RECEIVED A TIP-OFF LETTER

GUELPH - A local businessperson facing multiple drug charges says he
received a letter months before his arrest that purported to be from
a city police officer and asking him for $5,000 in exchange for
ending the drug probe against him.

"I have the letter," said Raed (Ray) Abdallnor Mammo, 43, the owner
of Coffee Time, referring to the correspondence.

Mammo and his 42-year-old spouse, Fadia Faraq Habbi, were each
charged with four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking
last month. Another 39-year-old Ariss man, Anthony Brent Pilon, faces
four counts of trafficking in connection with the same case.

The charges were laid after officers seized narcotics from an Evans
Drive residence and Coffee Time on Kortright Road on Feb. 17. The
police reported seizing drugs worth a combined street value of
$88,150 in those raids. Since that time, police have charged two
additional suspects in the case. On March 12, the police service
announced that Michael Fraser, 31, of Guelph, was charged with three
counts of trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of breach
of recognizance and driving under suspension. Giacamo Belcastro, 31,
also a Guelph resident, is charged with trafficking in a controlled substance.

In a phone interview this month, Mammo said he received the letter in
August and believed it was authored by a city police officer. The
alleged letter demanded $5,000 and stated that he would face charges
if he didn't pay up, Mammo said.

"I kept it a secret," said Mammo, who directed the Mercury to his
lawyer when the newspaper asked to obtain or to read the letter or a
copy of it. The Mercury asked Mammo about the letter after receiving
an anonymous email making allegations about the case shortly after
Mammo's arrest.

The Mercury has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter.
There is nothing to link such a letter to the officers in the police
investigation that led to charges. .

After directing the newspaper to his lawyer, Mammo ended the
interview and calls to him to obtain further comment have not been returned.

His lawyer, Gerald Punnett, said he had no knowledge of the letter
and would not offer further comment on the case.

According to city police, its drug and intelligence unit began the
probe that resulted in the charges against Mammo and the other
suspects in the case in January. During the investigation, police
say, undercover officers purchased various amounts of cocaine.

Guelph Police spokesperson Sgt. Doug Pflug said he couldn't say
whether there had been any police tips about the alleged letter.

He said that without seeing the letter that it isn't standard
operating behaviour for a city police officer.

"That sounds highly out of standard practice," Pflug said. "If we're
doing drug busts on people, we are not going to send them a letter
ahead of time and tell them to stop for $5,000."

Pflug said he couldn't speculate as to who might be the author of the
alleged letter.

An anonymous email sent to the Mercury following the drug bust said
the letter was dropped off at Coffee Time one evening in November. It
claimed the letter was followed by a phone call asking an employee to
retrieve this letter, without opening it and give it to the owner.

Mammo didn't make any payment, the email stated.

In the phone interview, Mammo said he's not guilty of the charges and
will contest them at trial.

Mammo and Habbi are next in court on March 26 and Pilon is to appear
on April 9. Belcastro remains in custody until his next court
appearance on March 26, while Fraser was released on $2,500 bail and
is to return March 29.