Drug kingpin goes to jail and forfeits $2 million

MONTREAL – The kingpin of a drug network in Nunavik and Nunavut, who made millions of dollars off his illegal trafficking, can now look forward to serving time behind bars.

Marcello (Mike) Ruggiero saw his drug network collapse last year, when police arrested him as he was drinking his morning coffee, and rounded up his web of pushers in Nunavut, Nunavik and Montreal.

Last Friday, Ruggiero pleaded guilty in Montreal to seven counts of trafficking, running an organized gang and possession of goods acquired through criminal means.

All of his goods deemed to be “proceeds of crime” – including a posh mansion, luxury car and a motorcycle – have been seized by the courts. The value of this property is estimated at about $2 million.

Ruggiero, a former heroin addict, had bought a house outside of Montreal that he hoped would some day offer drug addicts better therapy than he had received.

The courts have also seized this house.

Ruggerio had 46 people working with him, including 23 in Nunavik and Nunavik. Of these, four were held on drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy charges: Daniel Kasudluak, 29, of Inukjuak, Bobby Eyaituq, 31, and Isaac Amitook, 26, of Sanikiluaq, and Myva Quarak, 42, of Kuujjuaraapik.

Every week, four pounds of marijuana would be packed in plastic bags and sent north to them in planes. For every gram sold, $20 went to the dealer, and $30 to Ruggerio.

“The quantity isn’t huge compared to some cases we see here. Some people receive tonnes at the port,” admitted Ruggerio’s lawyer, Pierre Morneau. “But the effect on the communities was more serious.”

As a get-rich scheme, Ruggiero’s plan was appealing for everyone: for each $50 package sold in Nunavik or Nunavik, sellers kept $20 and sent the other $30 south.

The money was sent from the North to Montreal by money transfers through local stores to a Montreal-based transport company, which would then write out a cheque for the amount transferred, postal orders, and couriers, also known as “mules.”

The money Ruggiero netted, about $125,000 to $250,000 a week, allowed him and his buddies to buy luxurious homes and drive around in sports cars and SUVs.

But it all came to an end on May 31 last year, at about 6 a.m., when police swooped down on the traffickers in Nunavut, Nunavik and Montreal.

Some 200 police officers from the Aboriginal Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit were involved in the special operation known as “Project Crystal.”

Those arrested included Inuit and non-Inuit, old and young, men and women, husbands and wives, in 12 Nunavik and Nunavut communities and in Montreal.

Police hope that, with a little political pressure, the proceeds of Ruggiero’s activities will end up in the North where the cash will pay for drug prevention activities.

“This shows it’s worthwhile doing drug operations,” said Brian Jones, chief of the Kativik Regional Police Force. “And it proves that organized crime is alive and well in Nunavik.”

But Ruggiero was “just one guy,” Jones said, and a small player in an illegal drug northern market, estimated to take in $30 to $60 million a year.