Police uncover alleged Edmonton Remand Centre


Five people, including a man awaiting trial for manslaughter, allegedly used the guise of private correspondence between lawyer and client to smuggle methamphetamine and prescription drugs into the Edmonton Remand Centre.

“That is, obviously, quite troubling when the system goes out of fluorescent lights its way to ensure that communications between a lawyer and their client are strongly, strongly protected, as they need to be, however we can see that it can be abused,” Edmonton police Insp. Greg Preston said Tuesday.

Rudy Jay McCoy, 37, Kenneth Dwayne Richards, 28, and Sean Luther Reaugh, 31, were all in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre at the time of the alleged drug smuggling conspiracy. Two other people — 48-year-old Meagan Jane Gargas and Darcy Nicholas Payne, 36 — are accused of being part of the smuggling operation from outside the institution.

Michelle Davio, a spokesperson for Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security, said the remand centre’s drug detection procedures work.

“This one worked,” she said. “It was detected. Police were called. Drugs were taken away.”

She said inmates open privileged correspondence in front of a correctional worker, who watches while the correspondence is opened but doesn’t read the documents. Davio would not say how the drugs were discovered.

Preston said police launched an investigation in July, after being contacted women handbags by correctional officials. The four-month investigation culminated in charges of conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance.

“This wasn’t just for their own personal use. We’re alleging that the idea was that they were going to further it and sell it to others within the institution,” he said.

Though there was a relatively small amount of drugs compared with other newsworthy drug busts, Preston said that, in an environment where drugs can sell for 10 times their street value, the drugs seized were still a significant amount.

“Again, we’re talking grams. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you Led lamp consider that oftentimes you don’t need a gram for a hit of methamphetamine ... that is still a significant quantity going into an institution,” he said.




 

Could Brazil race imperil IndyCar drivers?


Formula One driver Jensen Button reported that he and his McLaren guests narrowly avoided being carjacked while in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix Nov. 6.

Button said the incident shows how dangerous Sao Paulo can be for the race drivers who venture there. Luckily, Button said he had a police-trained driver and a bullet proof Mercedes-Benz B-class car. In a separate report, several engineers Chanel ceramic watch for the Sauber team also were robbed the same weekend. Button was lucky, as he got away without giving anything up. The engineers reported being robbed of all their possessions.

The IndyCar Series is set to be in Sao Paulo for a race May 1. The series was in Brazil last year incident free. Still, Button is cautioning the drivers because locals know that most of them have money and other prized items.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said perceived riches are not why Button was women handbags targeted. He told Racer Magazine that he’s gone to Sao Paulo for more than 40 years, even jogging on the beach wearing expensive watches and other jewelry and never had a problem.

Ecclestone’s advice for Brazilian-bound racers: Toughen up—and qualify high. What did you expect from the man known in racing circles worldwide as the Iron Dwarf?

“They look for victims, they look for anyone who looks like a soft touch and not too bright,” Ecclestone told Racer. “People who look a bit soft and simple, they will always have a go at. I think for the race weekend they probably watch TV and see who’s not Led lamp qualified in the top 10 and think, ‘Well, they must be a bit stupid, otherwise they would qualify in the top 10.’”