Pubdate: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/info/letters/index.html Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) MAJOR DRUG DEALER JAILED FOR 42 MONTHS A major player in the city's thriving cocaine trade was sentenced to 42 months behind bars Thursday for his role in a sophisticated drug operation. John Joseph Devilla, 36, was led away in handcuffs in front of more than a dozen family members and friends who filled the small courtroom. Defence lawyer Jay Prober was seeking a conditional sentence which would have allowed his client to remain free in the community. Queen's Bench Justice Albert Clearwater said the message to drug dealers such as Devilla must be loud and clear -- prison is the only option. "The profits here were extraordinary," Clearwater said after hearing the facts of the case. Devilla was one of several men arrested in November 2003 following an extensive undercover police investigation that began in March 2002. RCMP officers used surveillance and wiretaps to catch the accused bringing drugs in from British Columbia and then distributing them on the streets of Winnipeg. Devilla had no prior criminal record and comes from an exemplary background. He pleaded not guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to traffic cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Several other charges, including possession of proceeds of crime, were stayed by the Crown. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake