Montreal man sentenced to 3 years for trafficking cocaine in Yellowknife

Montreal man charged with trafficking cocaine in Yellowknife has beensentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

On Friday Mamadou Gueye pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a prohibited weapon a sawed off shotgun.

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Defence and prosecution both recommended the three-and-a-half-year sentence. Gueye's lawyer notedit isa big increase from any sentence the 30-year-old previously received. Gueye has prior convictions for resisting a peace officerand breaching a court order.

"Your conduct also represents a marked jump from the previous offences, so it's only appropriate," Judge Robert Gorin told Gueye during the sentencing hearing.

Gueye and four others were charged last September after an RCMP drug investigation led to a search of a GitzelStreet apartment in Yellowknife.

Cocaine, cash found in apartment

According to an agreed statement of facts entered as evidence at Gueye's sentencing, police found just under 10 grams of cocaine in 24 small, individually wrapped amounts and $2,795 in cash in a safe in one of the bedrooms.

They also found a receipt in Gueye's name for a storage locker in the Kam Lake industrial area. Police found three shotguns and a rifle and ammunition in the storage locker. Gueye admitted the guns belonged to him.

Another of the men arrested, Farhan Hussein, was sentenced to 10 months in jail earlier in June after pleading guilty to possessing two grams of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Charges against the other three arrested at the apartment Jean Kelly Lavaud, Moussa Kaba and Chantal Mingilgak were withdrawn.

Two others Liban Mohamood Mohammed and Gary Gattie who were arrested at another residence as a result of the same investigation, are still facing charges of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime.

With the customary 1.5 times credit for the 292 daysGueye has served in jail since his arrest, Gueye has just over two years left on his sentence.