Pubdate: Wednesday, October 15, 1997 Source: Halifax Daily News Contact: Author: BETH JOHNSTON The Daily News Website: http://www.hfxnews.com/ Dutch hash importer will spend year in Canadian jail By BETH JOHNSTON The Daily News A Dutch man who flew to Canada to make some money selling hash will be spend a year in jail. Juan Carlos Voorhoeve, 22, was sentenced in Bedford court yesterday for importing illegal drugs into Canada from the Netherlands. Voorhoeve looked nervously around the courtroom and twirled his short black hair as a FrenchEnglish translator interpreted his sentencing. He was detained at the Halifax International Airport by immigration and customs officials Oct. 7, after he was seen acting suspicious. His flight from Amsterdam bound for Toronto was stopped in Halifax. He told officials he had no money and was on a short trip to Toronto where he had no family or friends. He was searched and when officers asked him to lift his sweatshirt they found body packs full of cannabis resin wrapped around his waist. "OK, you caught me," he was reported to have said. After complaining he didn't feel well, he was taken to hospital, where he later passed a number of plastic packages full of hash he had swallowed. The total street value of the drugs in his possession totalled $25,000. Provincial Crown attorney Ray Mitchell said although Voorhoeve had no prior record in Canada or "any other country" and cannabis resin is a relatively soft drug, it is important to deter people considering importing drugs into Canada. "It must be taken seriously," he said. "Considering the amount of drug, its value and the importation aspect, the Crown recommends one year incarceration." Defence lawyer Ann Copeland said her client, who works in the entertainment industry, invested in the hashish so he could pay off some "pressing" bills. She said he chose to come to Canada because it is "so beautiful" and he had never been here. "He has a clean record from a country that sees drug possession and trafficking in a different light" than Canada does. Copeland said he will have a particularly hard time in jail here because he has no "support network" of family and friends. She said he will have a hard time finding employment when he gets home because he will have lost his business "contacts." Judge Ray Mitchell told Voorhoeve he knew the consequences of getting caught before he committed the crime and sentenced him to a year in a federal institution.