Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2000, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Forum: http://forums.theglobeandmail.com/ Authors: Andrew Mitrovica in Toronto Jeff Sallot in Ottawa EX-DIPLOMAT CHARGED IN $1-MILLION COCAINE CASE Police Say Drugs Were Smuggled Into Israel A former Canadian diplomat has been charged with smuggling cocaine into Israel worth more than $1-million while he was travelling on a diplomatic passport. The drugs may have been concealed in a secure diplomatic bag, police and diplomatic sources say. The RCMP believe this is the first time a Canadian diplomat has been charged with drug smuggling. Douglas Wardle, 42, was arrested yesterday by two RCMP narcotics investigators as he left his modest Mississauga home for work. Mr. Wardle, a former diplomatic administrative officer who is now employed by a technology firm in Toronto, is charged with conspiracy to import, importing and trafficking 8.5 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of just over $1-million. The former diplomat was driven back to Ottawa by the drug investigators, RCMP Inspector Dale Begbie said in an interview yesterday. He later appeared in court and was released on a $50,000 bond. He is to appear in court again Aug. 11 to enter a plea. If convicted, Mr. Wardle faces a possible life sentence, Insp. Begbie said. Lawrence Greenspon, Mr. Wardle's lawyer, said he was surprised by the charges and anticipated that his client would plead not guilty. Mr. Wardle, who is married with one child, spent more than 20 years as a diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He left the foreign service in November of 1998, two years after Israeli police identified him as a suspect and arrested his alleged accomplices. He continued to work for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa from 1996 to 1998 when he voluntarily resigned, Valerie Noftle, a spokeswoman for the department, said. The department fully co-operated with the police, but has no additional comment because the case is before the courts, Ms. Noftle said. The charges against the former diplomat were the result of a complex 3 1/2-year probe by the Mounties working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, and police in Israel and the Netherlands, Insp. Begbie said. It was during his tour as chief administrative officer at Canada's embassy in Tel Aviv, police said, that Mr. Wardle allegedly became involved in the drug trade. As the embassy's top administrator, diplomatic sources said, Mr. Wardle was responsible for managing a $3-million budget, arranging security for embassy staff and ensuring that Canadian diplomats abided by Israeli law as they performed their duties. "He was a quiet, friendly guy," one diplomat said. The RCMP allege that Mr. Wardle made two trips from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv in late 1996 carrying, in total, 8.5 kilograms of cocaine. Law-enforcement and diplomatic sources said Mr. Wardle may have used diplomatic pouches to allegedly ship the narcotics from the United States into Israel. Mr. Wardle was recalled from Israel in 1996, after Israeli authorities notified the Canadian embassy that he had been implicated by two suspects charged in an alleged cocaine-trafficking ring. As a diplomat, Mr. Wardle enjoyed immunity from prosecution in Israel on any charges arising from his normal duties. His recall, diplomatic sources said, shocked other diplomats at the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv. "It [Mr. Wardle's recall] was big news in Israel," another diplomat said. "It was a public-relations disaster for the Canadian embassy. The embassy was brought into disrepute." Three Israeli men were each sentenced recently to several years in jail for their involvement in the alleged trans-Atlantic cocaine-smuggling operation. According to Insp. Begbie, Israeli police did not ask the Canadian government to strip Mr. Wardle of his diplomatic immunity in order to extradite him to Israel to face charges there. Insp. Begbie said the investigation took a long time to complete because a mountain of documentation related to the probe had to be translated from Hebrew into English and the Mounties had to apply for permission to travel overseas. - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson