(Source: The Daily Press - Timmins)
August 21, 2015
TIMMINS - A Timmins man who sent a package of highly addictive painkillers to be sold on the streets of Moosonee has been sentenced to more than six months in jail.
Police used footage from a video surveillance camera in the ONR bus station in Timmins to positively identify the man who sent the package — Ed Nakogee, 41.
On Thursday, Nakogee pleaded guilty in Timmins provincial court to possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, in addition to an unrelated offense of failing to attend court.
Pierre Lambert-Bélanger, a Timmins lawyer who serves as a federal prosecutor for drug cases in Timmins, said the drugs were destined for a “remote, vulnerable community” where “addiction issues are rampant.”
Lambert-Bélanger said that was an aggravating factor fuelled by the fact many residents in these Northern communities are “spending a significant amount of their income” to “feed their addiction.”
Percocet tablets typically sell on the street for about $20 apiece.
The court heard Nakogee attended the bus station on March 5, 2014 and turned a package over to the teller, providing instructions that it to be delivered to Moosonee where somebody would be there to pick it up.
Lambert-Bélanger said the teller’s suspicions were triggered by the fact the package emitted a strong odour of cannabis.
Police were subsequently contacted.
It turned out there was no marijuana in the package. Instead, Lambert-Bélanger said it contained 130 Percocet tablets, with a street value of $2,600.
Lambert-Bélanger said police allowed the package to be delivered and then made arrangements with the Ontario Provincial Police in Moosonee to arrest the recipient on the other end.
Graham Jenner, the defence lawyer who represented Nakogee, explained his client was “not the brains of the operation” but merely served as a mule to drop off the package.
Jenner suggested Nakogee “was taken advantage of” as he received a mere $40 for his troubles.
Nakogee, who has a history of drug problems, had a relapse and required the money to feed his addiction, Jenner explained.
The prosecutors recommended Nakogee receive a total of 10 months in jail for the two offenses he was convicted on, while the defence suggested five months was appropriate.
Judge Michelle Rocheleau settled on six-and-a-half months but gave Nakogee 41 days credit for time he had already served in custody awaiting his court appearance on Thursday.
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