DRUG CARRIER GETS 15 MONTHS

Arriving in Calgary with a half-century's worth of dope in tow has landed a
Surrey, B.C., man a 15-month jail term.

Justice Virgil Moshansky agreed with Crown prosecutor Scott Couper that a
jail sentence was needed for Nam Que-Hoai Lam to deter other potential drug
couriers.

Lam, 26, was busted Jan. 10, 2000, at Calgary's downtown Greyhound station
by the RCMP.

Police seized a suitcase full of marijuana Lam had carried with him off a
bus from Vancouver. Couper noted a drug expert pegged the street value of
the 22 kilos at more than $282,000.

A 51-YEAR-SUPPLY OF DOPE

"We have about a 51-year supply of the drug for a single user ... based on
an average consumption of a heavy user of one gram a day," Couper said,
quoting the expert's report.

"Deterrence and denunciation are particularly pressing in these
circumstances given the amount of the drugs and the apparent scheme
involved in transporting them," Couper said.

Defence lawyer Larry Ross had proposed a conditional sentence for his
client, noting B.C. has electronic monitors for convicts serving community
terms.

But Couper opposed any sentence that would spare Lam custody.

"A jail term is the only way to impress upon both the offender ... and
other members of the community who may be inclined to try drug trafficking
that this type of conduct isn't to be tolerated.

"A case such as this cries out for that message to be sent," he said.