5-year sentence for Yellowknife man arrested in 'Green Manalishi' drug bust

A Yellowknife man was sentenced to five years in prison Mondayfor heading up a cocaine-trafficking network that did business in Yellowknife and the South Slave region of the N.W.T.

Until his arrest in April 2016, Norman Hache ran a lucrative dial-a-dope operation selling crack and powdered cocaine in Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Hay River and Fort Resolution. Buyers would call a cell phone number to arrange for delivery of the drugs, typically only a few grams each time.

But there werea lot of buyers.

• 'The boss' in Yellowknife 'dial-a-dope' drug operation reaches plea deal with Crown

Investigators estimate Hache's organization was selling about 250 grams of powdered and crack cocaine each day at the time of his arrest.

The month before, he bought almost two pounds of cocaine from a supplier in Calgary, smuggled into Yellowknife through a confidant working for one of the airlines. Hache sent four ounces (113.4 grams) of crack cocaine and eight ounces (226.8 grams) of powdered cocaine to a seller based in Fort Resolution. Two days later the seller sent him $13,500.

Justice Louise Charbonneau accepted that Hache is remorseful for his actions. He pleaded guilty and, in a letter to the judge said, "I helped to destroy everything this community is trying to fix." In letters of support, Hache's mother, sister and friends say he has changed from the angry man he was following his arrest, to someone who is truly sorry for his actions.

With credit for the 501 days of jail time he's already served awaiting sentencing, Hache has three years left on his sentence.

Part of larger drug bust

The RCMP investigation that led to Hache's arrest also resulted in charges against 20 others and the seizure of 1,200 fentanyl pills, two kilograms of cocaine, seven kilos of marijuana, 11 litres of liquid codeine, $75,000 in cash, as well as numerous guns.

Hache was arrested in the second wave of searches the RCMP conducted as a result of the 11-month investigation, dubbed "Green Manalishi." Police moved in on him after getting a warrant, and listening in on and reading hundreds of his phone calls and texts.

Despite the success of the operation, after Hache was sentenced on Monday one of the investigators said as long as the N.W.T.'s considerable appetite for hard drugs continues, others will always be ready to move in to meet market demand.

"It would be naive to think that we would completely kibosh the drug trade in Yellowknife," said Sgt. Dean Riou of the RCMP's federal investigations unit.

"There's a very strong demand for these illicit drugs and there's always going to be somebody greedy enough to fill those demands. What we do is hold people accountable for their actions."

Earlier, two other lower-level people arrested as a result of the same investigation were sentenced to five years in prison each. But after Hache's sentencing, prosecutor Annie Piche said there was an important difference between his involvement in the drug trade and that of Brittany Dube and Eddy Radeka Dube and Radeka's charges related to the sale of the deadly opioid fentanyl.

"That has been recognized by the courts as attracting a higher starting point, so despite the fact that they may have been lower in their organization, it justifies a higher sentence."

The Yellowknife man at the top of the drug ring that Dube and Radeka were part of has apparently reached a deal with prosecutors. Todd Dube, the brother of Brittany, is scheduled to have his sentencing hearing Oct. 11.