A former Red Deer man charged with trafficking crack cocaine during a sting operation in the summer of 2010 was fined after pleading guilty to a lesser charge on Thursday.
Riak Kur, 30, now living in Edmonton, entered his plea before Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Monica Bast at the start of what was originally planned as a two-day trial.
Kur was arrested on June 22, 2010, and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.
In reciting the statement of facts agreed to between the Crown and defence, prosecutor Dave Inglis said Kur’s activities were being watched as part of an anti-gang operation involving Calgary Police Service, Calgary RCMP and Red Deer RCMP street team.
Police officers watching Kur’s Cornett Drive apartment on June 21 noticed a series of suspicious activities that appeared like drug transactions inside a green car, a Chrysler Intrepid, that Kur was driving.
They pulled the car over and conducted a search, but found no drugs.
Later on, they noticed more activity and once again pulled the car over and searched Kur again, finding a package containing 1.6 grams of crack and $80 in cash.
In a subsequent search conducted in his suite, police found two more packages of crack, four scales, packaging materials and bundles of cash totalling $2,475.
Following negotiations with the Crown, Kur and his lawyer, Bradley Mulder, agreed on Thursday to a reduced charge of simple possession, with the charge of possession of the proceeds of crime withdrawn.
Bast, in following their joint submission, ordered that Kur pay a fine of $2,000 plus a victim surcharge of $100.
All of the goods seized in the investigation were also given up for disposal.
The unclaimed car Kur had been driving had already been crushed.