DRUG MONEY LEADS TO DEALERS IN NUNAVIK

Kuujjuaraapik Man Skips Court, Forfeits $15,000

Police in Nunavik are seizing both drugs and money in an attempt to
discourage the rising drug trade in the region.

Last week, in Kuujjuaq, police found nearly a kilo of marijuana in
coffee cans, king-sized beer cans and several bottles of hard liquor
in the luggage of an Aupaluk resident who was flying in from Montreal.

Charges in this incident are pending as police investigate.

Any seized drugs or booze destined for the black market are destroyed,
but now the Kativik Regional Police Force is also going after the
proceeds of suspected drug-trafficking.

Two weeks ago, a man in Kuujjuaraapik didn't bother to show up in
court to recover more than $15,000 seized by the KRPF last year.
Police could not find drugs in his possession, but they seized the
money as the proceeds of drug sales.

The money was en route from two communities to a man the police say is
known as a drug trafficker.

Police seized $3,100 in June, 2003 that was sent to him from Akulivik
boxed in a coffee kettle with two store catalogues. They seized
another $12,000, which had been sent to the same man from Sanikiluaq
in November, 2003 in an Air Inuit Sulupac.

"There were no criminal charges laid. We went for forfeiture of money,
the money being from criminal activity. It was the first time we tried
this," said KRPF Capt. Larry Hubert.

The man who lost the money could have appeared in court with an
affidavit regarding the origins of the money.

In his absence, Quebec Judge Laurent Bonin determined the money should
be forfeited and remain in the provincial government coffers.

On June 7 in Inukjuak, another case involving $43,453 seized by police
last September will be heard in court.

Police had found the money taped to the chest of an Air Inuit
passenger en route from Inukjuak to Montreal.

During a routine security check at the airport in Kuujjuaraapik, a man
became agitated when the wand that is used to check for metal began to
beep loudly when security agents waved it near him.

Constables from the KRPF, who were called in to assist in dealing with
the man, saw that beneath his shirt were several packages taped to his
chest.

After the man was taken to the KRPF police station, where he was
charged with disturbing the peace, police found that the packages
taped to his chest were filled with cash, in the form of 20-, 50- and
100-dollar bills.

The individual packages were neatly labelled Sanikiluaq, Inukjuak and
Kuujjuaraapik, with the amount of money and air fare, as expenses,
indicated on each one.

The man told police that this money represented cash received from the
sale of carvings, although police were skeptical. They will ask for
this money to be forfeited next week.

"The law now is pretty clear. All the money has to go back to the
Quebec government, then it's distributed. But we want to push the
government, so the money seized in Nunavik stays in Nunavik where we
can use the money for crime prevention and make people more aware of
drug and alcohol abuse," KRPF chief Brian Jones said.