Nunavut man cuts a deal on drug charges

An Iqaluit man who Nunavut RCMP alleged was involved in a Montreal-Iqaluit marijuana trafficking ring pleaded guilty in an Iqaluit courtroom Jan. 7 to possessing about half a pound of the illegal drug.

But Matthew Kipanik, 31, maintained his plea of not guilty on the more serious charge of possessing a drug with the intent of trafficking — a charge Kipanik was scheduled to stand trial for Jan. 7.

Kipanik’s lawyer, John Thompson, and Crown lawyer Sébastien Lafrance instead presented Justice Bonnie Tulloch with a joint submission.

According to the submission, Kipanik pleaded guilty to possessing just under half a pound of marijuana and to resisting arrest.

Tulloch accepted the submission and issued Kipanik a $910 fine, to be paid within five months.

Members of the RCMP arrested Kipanik, along with a part-time resident of Iqaluit — 22-year-old Bruce Tshibangu — at Iqaluit’s eight-storey high rise on May 27 after a six-month investigation.

During the investigation, police had the high rise under surveillance and were receiving tips from neighbours and residents within the apartment building.

At a press conference on June 3, RCMP displayed what they seized from a unit within the high rise including: seven pounds, or 3.2 kilograms, of marijuana; $16,500 in cash; eight cellphones; a weighing scale; and a laptop.

The RCMP alleged that the seized marijuana was intended for sale in Iqaluit.

“The surveillance efforts alluded to in court relate mostly to Bruce Tshibangu,” Thompson told Nunatsiaq News outside the courtroom.

Tshibangu, released from custody on recognizance, is now in Montreal, Const. Stephen Kilabuk — a Nunavut RCMP officer involved in the investigation — told Nunatsiaq News.

Tshibangu is scheduled to appear in court later this month in Montreal, Kilabuk said. Tshibangu’s case will likely work its way through the Quebec court system now, Kilabuk added.

“The chances of it coming back to Nunavut are highly unlikely,” he said.

But the case is still being reviewed by the Crown in Nunavut, a representative from Nunavut’s Crown office told Nunatsiaq News, and it will be up to representatives in the Quebec court system to accept a transfer of the case.

Police allege that Tshibangu deals marijuana primarily in Montreal.

In accepting the joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers on behalf of Kipanik, Tulloch fined Kipanik $650 for possession of marijuana and $50 for resisting arrest.

An automatic 30 per cent victim fine surcharge brings Kipanik’s total fines to $910.

“You are in jeopardy of putting your children’s necessities at risk if you get caught again with drugs because you could end up in jail,” Tulloch said to Kipanik, a father of four, who stood in the court room wearing a full-length snowmobile suit.