Man pleads guilty in running massive cocaine operation

Man pleads guilty in massive cocaine operation

A Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to running one of the largest cocaine operations ever shut down by city police.

Thomaz Martin Nataluk, 25, admitted responsibilty Monday just as his Queen’s Bench trial was set to begin. He will be sentenced later this fall under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers. Sources say the proposed penalty will be in the range of eight years.

Nataluk was arrested in June 2007 after investigators seized 15 kilograms of cocaine -- worth up to $1.8 million on the street -- along with $525,000 in cash during a raid of a downtown apartment block. Officers also found 14 firearms, including two fully automatic sub-machine guns, inside three suites on Donald Street.

Nataluk spent six months in custody before he was released on bail. His lawyer, Paul Gill, initially accused police of conducting an illegal search and claimed he would challenge the validity of the case at trial.

Police first stopped Nataluk in traffic on Broadway and found two kilograms of cocaine inside the vehicle, court was told. They were then led to the nearby apartment but went in without obtaining a warrant. An additional 13 kilograms of cocaine was found inside, with more than $500,000 cash lying on a table.

Police also found ingredients to bake brick after brick of crack cocaine, with several Pyrex cooking pans of freshly made crack cocaine and one batch being mixed before putting it in the oven. As the search continued in the other suites, officers seized a black Ralph Lauren duffel bag stuffed with two Mac 11 machine-guns and 12 handguns, plus ammunition.

Police said the apartment was the centre for a major crack cocaine production and distribution centre and they had reason to act immediately. The Crown dropped proceed of crime charges Monday which had been previously laid against Nataluk’s 26-year-old girlfriend, who was the registered tenant of the apartment suite.

I agree with the defence lawyer that the search was definitely illegal, as the police needed a search warrant. Even those this man pleaded guilty, I believe that 8 years is far too harsh. I believe that only the most dangerous criminals should be sentenced to prison, not non-violent, drug, or property offenders. This man will likely become negatively influenced by the prison environment and subculture as gangs and drugs and pro-criminal attitudes/behaviours are prevalent. He will likely become further involved and entrenched in the criminal lifestyle. If this man has been successful on bail and has obeyed conditions, I would see no reason to further imprison him. If this were the case, I would sentence this man to a 2 year conditional sentence. 

Man's drug addictions lead him down a criminal path

Drug problems downfall for man

Lloyd Jansen thought he could dig himself out of a massive drug debt by selling cocaine for the Hells Angels.

But the 26-year-old Winnipeg man only added to his growing list of problems when he got caught up in an undercover police sting operation.

Jansen pleaded guilty Tuesday to his role in "Project Divide", which saw 31 people arrested last December after police used a secret agent to capture dozens of drug deals on video and audio surveillance. He was sentenced to three years in prison, in addition to time served, under a joint-recommendation from Crown and defence lawyers.

Jansen was caught on camera last July delivering 10 ounces of cocaine to the agent, Michael Satsatin, in the parking lot of the Safeway store on Henderson Highway in North Kildonan.

Defence lawyer Darren Sawchuk said his client fell on hard times when he became hooked on crack cocaine and ran up more than $50,000 debt to several local dealers who had ties to the notorious outlaw motorcycle gang.

Jansen quit his job as a diesel mechanic and became a street-level dealer. Crown attorney Chris Mainella said he was "trying to work his way up" the criminal ladder.

Court documents obtained last week revealed how many of Winnipeg's most popular suburban restaurants, stores, shopping malls and entertainment outlets were used as the backdrop for the Hells Angels to conduct their transactions.

Investigators seized 165 ounces of cocaine, 12 ounces of methamphetamine, 12,000 ecstasy tablets, one ounce of heroin and seven pounds of marijuana during their investigation, along with cash, firearms and gang paraphernalia. More than 300 Mounties and police from Winnipeg, Brandon, Ste. Anne and B.C. were involved. Satsatin was paid $450,000 plus expenses and put in the witness protection plan.

Blair Alford, 55, was sentenced April 1 to 40 months behind bars after admitting to selling 12 ounces of cocaine to Satsatin in the parking lot of a Rona store on Kenaston Boulevard. The other 29 accused remain before the courts.

I would like to have known more of this man's background life such as how long he's been addicted and if he has attempted to go through any programs. 

I think this is a case where a drug treatment court might be successful. This man plead guilty and in order to be eligible for a drug treatment court, the individual must take responsibility for their actions. This man has done that. I definitely don't agree with the 3 year sentence as I feel that we need to consider alternatives to imprisonment in more cases. This man could participate in a drug treatment program and regular drug testing. If he completed it successfully, he would likely to given probation. If he failed to abide by the conditions , he would be processed through the regular courts and possibly given incarceration then. 

I think he needs help for his drug problem and it he agreed to a program, I think this could be a successful alternative. I also think that he needs employment assistance. 

Drug offenders, in my opinion, should not be in prison. They are the individuals that can best be helped through rehabilitation. Drug offenders pose a very small threat to the safety of society and I feel that prison should only be reserved for violent murderers and psychopaths, for people who actually do harm to another person. 

Most criminals who serve extended periods of incarceration, become institutionalized and are incapable of proper decision making and of reintegration. This is NOT in society's best interests. These people are often then released back into the same social and economic conditions which contributed to their criminal behaviour initially. We need to help offenders uncover the root causes of their behaviour and the factors contributing to crime and then address those, if our goal is really to prevent and reduce crime. Prison has been proven to NOT reduce or deter crime. So why are we still using it for small time offenders??  

3 year sentence given in Project Divide drug case

3 year sentence handed down in Project Divide drug case

WINNIPEG - A Knowles Avenue business owner is the first person sentenced to jail time in connection with one of the largest gang busts in Manitoba’s history.

Details of the massive organized crime bust, dubbed Project Divide, were revealed for the first time in court Thursday, about three months after officers arrested 34 people believed to be affiliated with the Zig Zag Crew and Hell’s Angels.

Blair Alford, 55, told court Thursday he was sorry for delivering 12 ounces of cocaine to a police informant known as "Agent 22" in a Lindenwoods parking lot in July 2009. Alford told court he was helping out someone he knew, but acknowledged he delivered the drugs.

Crown attorney Chris Mainella said Alford was motivated by greed to participate in the drug dealing.

"He only has himself to blame," said Mainella.

Mainella said the drug deal came together after Alford and four other men came together at a Lindenwoods Moxie’s restaurant in early July 2009 to discuss a cocaine trade. The deal involved a Vancouver-based associate of the Independent Soldiers gang, Daniel Hawkins, who was also arrested in the Project Divide bust.

In the days leading up the deal, court heard police collected a flurry of Blackberry PIN messages between Hawkins and the police informant setting up the deal.

On July 28, 2009, Alford got out of a GMC truck in the parking lot of a Lindenwoods Rona and then sat in a car with the informant, counting out drugs and cash, Mainella said.  Alford used an empty can of infant formula to carry the cocaine, and police watched him return to his Knowles Avenue shop with the cash, the court heard.

"He didn’t need to get involved with the likes of Mr. Hawkins to make ends meet," Mainella said of Alford, who owns a gravel trucking business.

Alford turned himself into police at the Public Safety Building days after the bust was announced.

Court heard the case against Alford relies on an unidentified police informant, who will receive up to $450,000 for helping officers video and audiotape suspects carrying out drug and gun deals. The police informant is now in the witness protection program, court heard. He became involved with the police because he was motivated by financial interest.

"Agents are what they are," said Mainella. "We don’t dress them up in crinoline."

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice William Burnett accepted a joint recommendation submitted by Mainella and defence lawyer Stephen Friesen. Alford will do a total of 40 months in jail, including three more years in custody and four months he’s already served.

"It’s not Freedom 55," said Mainella. Alford must also submit a DNA sample and have a 10-year weapons prohibition, Burnett ruled.

Court heard Thursday the wispy white-haired man has suffered financial hardship due to publicity around his arrest, which has strained his family.

"He insists he did not have financial benefit," said Friesen.

Alford has a daughter who attends classes at University of Manitoba who has had to work extra to support her family, court heard. No relatives were in court Thursday.

"I don’t really know why I did it," Alford said, adding later: "I’m very sorry for what I did."