HASH BUST: LOCAL MEN SENTENCED

Three local men were sentenced last week after being found guilty in
one of the largest hashish busts in B.C. history.

A total of nine people will spend between two and a half and six years
in jail for their part in the massive drug trafficking operation.

"It was a huge investigation involving many officers," said Sgt. Dave
Goddard, the spokesman for the RCMP's Greater Vancouver drug section.

Kurt Patrick Guilbride, 49, of Ladysmith was sentenced to five years
in prison and Ronald Patrick Thomson from Chemainus received a
four-year sentence.

Richard Farrington, 44, from Cassidy was found guilty on two counts
and will spend three and a half years in jail.

"I think the sentences handed out were probably what was expected,"
Goddard said.

The convictions were the result of a 20-month investigation involving
the RCMP, Canada Customs, U.S. Customs, the Canadian Armed Forces, the
U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, in addition to
foreign law-enforcement agencies.

On November 4, 1998, RCMP stormed a boat, the Ansare II, docked in
Fanny Bay and found nearly 10 tonnes of hashish being unloaded.

On the same day another ship, the Blue Dawn, was intercepted in
international waters by the U.S. Coast guard and an additional 2.35
tonnes of cannabis resin was seized.

The combined value of the narcotics was an estimated $46
million.

"We are mainly a distribution point especially for the hash market and
I suspect, as do most of the investigators here, that this amount was
destined for other parts of the country and or the United States,"
Goddard said.

The court case, which began on April 17, 2001, featured 104 witnesses
and 344 exhibits.

The six others received sentences of varying lengths.

Sanford Hately, 56, was given six years because he was the owner and
captain of the Blue Dawn. His twin brother Joel Hately received two
years six months.

Silvie Goyer, 48, received four years, while Richard Farrington, 44,
and Ronald Grant, 57, each received three and a half years for their
part.

Ken Thomson, 49, received two years six months.

The ninth individual, Wolfgang Fitznar, was sentenced in absentia
because he disappeared with his family.

Previously, five other people were prosecuted in Nanaimo in 2000 for
their involvement. They were mostly involved with unloading and
attempted distribution of the drug and received sentences ranging from
three to four years.

Goddard said he hopes the sentences will act as a deterrent.

"Anytime anybody goes to jail it's a deterrent and that's the intent
of the sentencing," he said.