HALIFAX – A five-month undercover drug trafficking investigation, stemming from the arrest of a Halifax-area corrections worker, has ended with 14 arrests and police laying a total of 43 charges.
The province-wide investigation began with the Oct. 2012 arrest of Malcolm Beaton, a former corrections officer at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility.
In what was dubbed “Operation Harvey,” the Combined Forces Intelligence Unit and Halifax Regional Police/RCMP Special Enforcement Section arrested 11 men and three women.
Those arrested are all from Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton or Truro, and range in ages from 22-year-old to 66-years-old.
Police allege some of the accused were involved in supplying and trafficking drugs — including marijuana, Dilaudid, hydropmorphone, hash and steroids — at the Dartmouth facility.
“Drug dealers have the belief that they hold power and they can hide and operate within our institutions and communities,” said Insp. Joanne Crampton, Nova Scotia RCMP Division Intelligence Officer.
She added the alleged actions “are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
The was also a stark warning from the province’s Dept. of Justice.
“It is simply not acceptable that people in positions of authority may have been involved in illegal activity,” Justice Minister Ross Landry said on Friday. “There is zero tolerance for anyone who abuses their position and their authority. We co-operated fully with the police investigation to ensure that those involved would be held accountable for their actions.
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Correctional Services Director Sean Kelly said steps will be taken to “put more stringent hiring practices in place.”
Other arrests in the investigation related to the trafficking of cocaine and crack cocaine.
Mounties said officers seized more than a kilogram of cocaine, a loaded handgun and a quantity of cash.
Some of the accused have already made court appearances, while others were due to be arraigned on Friday.
Beaton was released on bail with conditions in the fall.
The following individuals are charged:
Malcolm Beaton, age 49, Inverness
Breach of Trust
Trafficking in Hydromorphone
Trafficking in Marijuana X 2
Conspiracy to Traffic in Hydromorphone
Conspiracy to Traffic in Marijuana
Released on conditions
Kathy MacLean, age 41, Eastern Passage
Trafficking in Steroids X 2
Trafficking Hydromorphone X 2
Breach of Trust
Released on conditions, appearing in Dartmouth Provincial Court on Friday.
Kenneth Wingfield, age 49, Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility
Conspiracy to Traffic in Marijuana
Conspiracy to Traffic in Hydromorphone
Appearing in Dartmouth Provincial Court on Friday
Cayla Conrod, age 22, Dartmouth
Trafficking in Hydromorphone X 2
Trafficking in Steroids
Breach of Recognizance x 2
Appeared in court March 7, released on conditions.
Brian Gough, age 49, Hammonds Plains
Traffic in Cannabis Resin
Traffic in Crack Cocaine X 2
Appeared in court March 7, released on conditions.
Leaman Alphonso David, age 47, Hammonds Plains
Trafficking in Crack Cocaine X 2
Appeared in court March 7, held in custody.
Jason David, age 45, Hammonds Plains
Trafficking in Cocaine
Appeared in court March 7, held in custody.
Jean Joseph Boudaher, age 55, Lower Sackville
Trafficking in Marijuana X 2
Trafficking in Cocaine
Possession for the Proceeds Of Crime
Appeared in court March 7 held in custody. Appearing in Halifax Provincial Court on Friday.
Bashir Makhoul, age 28, Williamswood
Possession of a Weapon Dangerous to the Public
Careless Storage of a Firearm
Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Prohibited
Possession of a Prohibited Weapon Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized Appeared in court yesterday, held in custody.
Appearing in Halifax Provincial Court on Friday.
Ashley Brown, age 38, Bible Hill
Trafficking in Steroids
Breach of Trust
Appeared in front of a Justice of the Peace, released on conditions.
The following individuals were arrested and released on a Promise to Appear in Halifax Provincial Court on April 30, 2013:
Andrew Weary, age 46, Bedford
Trafficking in Marijuana X 3
Jenna MacDonald, age 23, Eastern Passage
Trafficking in Hydromorphone x 2
Eric Husbands, age 66, Herring Cove
Trafficking in Hydromorphone x 2
Shafik “Sam” Makhoul, age 63, Williamswood
Trafficking in Marijuana
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