A Fort Resolution woman who pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine with former drug kingpin Norman Hache will learn her fate on Aug. 28.
Thirty-four-year old Lacey Forrest appeared before Justice Karan Shaner in NWT Supreme Court Wednesday to answer to three drug-related charges brought against her by the Crown.
Forrest was one of several people who were arrested and charged in April 2016 after a far-reaching RCMP-led probe into high level drug trafficking in the city of Yellowknife and throughout the territory resulted in the dismantling of two rival drug networks.
Of the four individuals also charged with conspiring to sell cocaine, Forrest is the last to be sentenced for her involvement in the Hache-headed drug network.
– Brendan Burke
Search warrants executed at housing complex
Search warrants were executed at a Range Lake-area housing complex last Friday, say RCMP.
"Two search warrants were issued pursuant to Section 487 of the Criminal Code … Friday evening," stated Const. Heather Cosenzo in an email to Yellowknifer. Const. Cosenzo said the information was relayed to her from the RCMP's Federal Investigative Unit (FIU).
Media reports earlier this week that a unit at the Borealis Housing Co-operative, located on Finlayson Drive, was raided by police in tactical gear. One resident said police removed three people from the unit.
"The matter is still under investigation and no charges have been laid," the statement from FIU read.
– Brendan Burke
Body found in School Draw neighborhood
The RCMP is assisting the coroner after a body was found in the School Draw area of Yellowknife on Wednesday.
In a statement Thursday, police said they responded to a report of a possible sudden death in a wooded area between 44th Street and School Draw Avenue at 9:05 a.m. on Wednesday.
"RCMP conducted interviews with residents in the area and are assisting the NWT Coroner Service with the investigation," reads the statement.
– Sidney Cohen
NWT Chamber of Commerce opposes land transfer tax
The NWT Chamber of Commerce is "adamantly opposed" to the territorial government's proposed land transfer tax, says the chamber's president.
"We see this as a shortsighted endeavour and we encourage the GNWT to look at other ways to re-energize property ownership that will be more sustainable," Trevor Wever said May 4 at the chamber's annual general meeting.
Finance minister Robert C. McLeod said in February that the government is working on proposals for a land transfer tax as a new source of income that could help offset the territory's declining revenues.
The prospect of a land transfer tax has drawn the ire of observers in Yellowknife who say such a levy would disproportionately affect home buyers in the territorial capital, where real estate costs are high.
– Sidney Cohen