EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Turbidity levels remain low despite debris Page 2
Cain Franson moves up to minor pros Page 7
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 PM40008236
Vol. 59 No. 20 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Before the court: Malakwa’s Colin Martin heads into the Kamloops court house during his extradition hearings held last week. Photo by Dave Eagles/KTW
Martin to stand trial in the U.S.
Conspiracy: Malakwa man faces charges for alleged involvement in drug-trafficking ring. By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
A Shuswap man alleged by American authorities to have been the kingpin of a crossborder drug-smuggling ring will be sent to the U.S. to stand trial on conspiracy charges. In B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Friday, May 9, Colin Martin was committed for extradition to Seattle, where American prosecutors have charged him with conspiracy to traffic in marijuana, cocaine and MDMA. There is a mandatory 30-day waiting period before surrender. Martin was taken into custody following Justice William Ehrcke’s decision, but he is eligible to apply for bail. Martin’s lawyer, Eric Purtzki, said a decision on a potential appeal of the extradition order has not yet been made. “I am satisfied that the evidence… discloses a case that would qualify for his committal to trial in Canada,” Ehrcke said in his decision. “I order that he be committed into custody to prepare for surrender.”
The two-day extradition hearing heard a summary of the evidence American authorities have on Martin, who is from Malakwa, and his alleged involvement in a large-scale drug-trafficking ring that saw marijuana and MDMA shipped by helicopter to remote locations in northern Idaho and Washington state in exchange for cocaine, money and firearms. U.S. authorities allege Martin would hire people in B.C. to load the helicopters with as much as $5-million worth of marijuana or MDMA, then pay pilots to fly the choppers to pre-determined locations across the U.S.Canada border. The haul of B.C. bud or pills would allegedly be unloaded by a ground crew in the U.S., and cocaine, firearms and money would be loaded into the helicopter for transport back to Canada. According to federal Crown prosecutor Andrew Majawa, Martin’s crews made approximately three cross-border trips every two weeks. See Death linked on page 2
Phase one done: Margo Westaway recently completed the first phase of a month-long landscaping project below her property on the Trans-Canada Highway. Above, Westaway and husband Rick Charleston tear down an existing wall and separate the rocks for later use. Below, Westaway adds supporting stones in the nearly complete wall made of recycled materials, including chunks of granite counts that have been made into a stairway. The next phase is the garden area above, which Westaway sees potentially being used as a stop on the local trail system. Photos by Lachlan Labere