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'Trusted' transporter in coke ring sentenced to 36 months

A Yellowknife man who sold and transported cocaine as a “trusted” member in a high level trafficking network was handed a 36 month jail sentence last week.

Devon Herback, 36, embraced family in NWT Supreme Court Friday after being sentenced by Justice Shannon Smallwood on one count of trafficking in cocaine, a charge he pleaded guilty to last year.

Under the direction of Norman Hache – the leader of a sophisticated drug ring that brought large quantities of cocaine into the territory from Calgary – Herback doubled as both a street-level dealer in Yellowknife and as a “runner,” delivering cocaine to neighboring communities in NWT.

Herback was actively involved in the network from February to April of 2016.

Hache, who supplied Herback with cocaine, received a five -year prison sentence in August.

RCMP photo. 
In April 2016, Project Green Manalishi resulted in the seizure of a large cache of drugs, pictured here, and the arrests of numerous traffickers, including Devon Herback and Norman Hache, who supplied Herback with cocaine.

Herback transported cocaine in quantities “sufficient to supply street level traffickers” within the drug ring, according a statement of facts summarized in court during the sentencing hearing.

But that wasn't his only role within the network.

Herback was also one of three dial-a-dope phone operators, fielding calls from drug users attempting to buy cocaine and crack, and making street-level sales himself. Several ounces of cocaine a day were sold through the phone operation, which ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In late February 2016, Yellowknife RCMP's Federal Investigation Unit began monitoring the communications of Herback and others as part of “Project Green Manalishi,” leading to the interception of several incriminating calls and texts.

On March 11 2016, undercover RCMP officers bought $320 worth of crack cocaine from Herback behind the Kilt and Castle Pub on 49 Street. Officers arranged the deal by calling a number linked to the dial-a-dope phone operated by Herback – 867-444-HARD.

“Hard” is slang commonly used for crack cocaine.

RCMP continued to monitor Herback, and between March 15 and 16, 2016, officers performed surveillance on his vehicle as it travelled from Yellowknife to Fort Resolution, en route to deliver cocaine to a residence.

Once at the residence, police moved in, arresting Herback as he sat in a truck parked in the driveway. Lying on the ground beside the truck were 362.5 grams of cocaine. A large folding knife, a digital scale and $5,980 were found in Herback's possession, while a search of the home resulted in the seizure of $8,040 and lists or “score sheets” detailing outstanding drug debts.

With the RCMP's sweeping probe into high level drug trafficking still active, Herback was released not long after his arrest in order not to compromise “Project Green Manalishi.”

But Herback's arrest didn't spell an end for his involvement in the network.

Herback resumed his duties as a dial-a-dope operator, selling eight to nine ounces of cocaine a day from April 4 to April 13, 2016. According to the agreed statement of facts, Herback's return as a phone operator came after the arrest of a “rival group” of drug traffickers on April 4, 2016.

On that day, Todd Dube – described by prosecutors as the “king pin” of a separate drug operation in the city – was arrested.

Traffickers within Dube's network also operated a 24-7 phone line for the sale of crack cocaine.

Dube was sentenced to nine years in prison in October.

On April 14, 2016, RCMP arrested Hache and several other co-conspirators. Herback turned himself into police two days later.

Calling Herback a “trusted” “middleman” in an operation that saw “wholesale” amounts of cocaine enter Yellowknife and the territory, Justice Smallwood stressed the “devastating effects” of the drug before rendering her decision.

With credit for time already served in custody, Herback will spend 33 months behind bars. Herback's lawyer, Jay Bran, had asked for a term of 20 to 24 months, while the Crown sought a three-year sentence.