How well did Iqaluit’s drug bust go?

SEAN MCKIBBON
Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Police put an end to Claude Caza’s hashish operation in a major drug sweep last spring. Caza was one of 29 people arrested in the sweep, which also targeted a number of unrelated drug operations. The RCMP say 18 of the people charged either pleaded guilty or were convicted.

Two men, François Goupil and Mark Pitts, are still awaiting trial.

Goupil, of Sherbrooke Quebec, is charged with conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance and trafficking. His matter has been set for trial July 6, 1999.

Goupil is a member of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club.

Pitts has waived his charges down to Vancouver to have them tried there.

The other people who were charged last year have either had their charges stayed, withdrawn, or have been found not guilty.

Clara Rumboldt, Caza’s common-law wife, pleaded guilty to trafficking in a narcotic. Other charges of conspiracy to traffic and possession for the purpose of trafficking were stayed. She received a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served at home under the supervision of a probation officer.

Nuyalea Kipanik, of Iqaluit, was found guilty Sept. 13, 1998 of conspiring to traffic in a controlled substance. Police say he bought drugs from Caza and others and distributed them elsewhere in the Baffin region. He received a four-year jail sentence.

Jean-Pierre Levesque, of Iqaluit, was charged with conspiring with Caza to traffic in a controlled substance and four other counts of trafficking in a controlled substance. He had a stay of proceedings on matters related to Caza’s operation.

Roger Marquis, 44, of Iqaluit, charged with conspiring with Caza to traffic in a controlled substance and three other drug related charges, pleaded guilty to possession for the purposes of trafficking. He was sentenced to one day plus time served. His other charges were stayed.