PILOT COULDN'T RESIST DREAM OF DRUG RICHES

It Died With Plane Crash In Lake

WHETHER it was a plane, a train or an automobile, Joel Maguet wasn't
very picky when it came to dreaming up innovative schemes on how to
peddle drugs across Canada.

But it would be his desire to sink to new depths -- or rise to rare
heights -- that would ultimately cost him his freedom and then his life.

Maguet, 33, first came on the criminal radar in 2001 when RCMP in
western Manitoba raided a drug operation the likes of which they'd
never seen. It was in eight railway boxcars buried three metres
underground on a rural property near Dauphin.

Maguet was the alleged mastermind of an operation that police believe
took nearly two years to plan and build, cost more than $100,000 but
could have yielded a yearly marijuana crop worth at least $1.4 million.

"This was highly organized crime. It is the most sophisticated bunker
we have unearthed in this province," Crown attorney Erin Magas told
court during Maguet's sentencing hearing in 2002.

He was sentenced to five years, three months in prison under a joint
agreement that gave him credit for entering a speedy guilty plea.
Several other accused were also convicted for their roles.

Details of the hearing were uncovered Friday through court
transcripts obtained by the Free Press.

They reveal that police seized numerous personal items of Maguet's
inside the buried railway cars, including the names, addresses and
phone numbers of Hells Angels members in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Police also seized nine high-powered handguns and rifles, many of
which had been stolen. There were also several crossbows and even
night-vision equipment to scope out predators who might get close to the site.

"It's clear the individuals who had this operation were prepared to
use whatever force they saw necessary to protect their operation," Magas said.

Maguet and his colleagues likely would have escaped if not for a
tipster who came forward to police in 2001, court was told.

"Had it not been for the confidential informant, it is unlikely we
would have ever found this," said Magas.

Maguet's criminal record actually began in 1992 and included seven
prior convictions for incidents including assault causing bodily
harm, drug possession and weapons offences. Yet his 2002 sentence
marked his very first stint in jail.

Maguet was released on parole in 2003, then settled down with his
family near Dauphin and became the father of a little girl in 2004.

But friends and sources say he never could resist the lure of a quick
buck through the drug trade and cooked up another unusual scheme last
year involving himself, "right-hand man" Dan Atkinson and a third friend.

Maguet took his pilot training, bought a single-engine Mooney Mark 21
and got his licence about two months ago. He even had a private
landing strip built on his expansive farm property in Ste. Rose du Lac.

He then quickly picked up where he left off in 2001, this time
offering a unique air trafficking service that was quickly in big
demand because of the method of delivery he could offer.

In a time when drug-filled semi-trailers are being searched and
seized on a regular basis on Canadian highways, Maguet knew he was
virtually untouchable in the sky.

He did manage to avoid police detection this time -- at least until
Monday, when his airborne operation literally fell from the sky and
crashed into West Hawk Lake.