B.C.-based former sailor pleads guilty to drug charge

A second former sailor from a warship based at CFB Esquimalt has been given a suspended sentence and a fine after pleading guilty to trafficking in cocaine.

Sonya Robert, 27, was charged in January 2006 following an undercover operation aboard the minesweeper HMCS Saskatoon.

Last week, Robert pleaded guilty in military court to selling half a gram of cocaine to a military undercover drug officer. She was fined $500 in addition to a 30-day suspended sentence.

Last month, a military court gave 28-year-old Brenda Murley, a former deckhand on the Saskatoon, a 15-day suspended sentence and a $500 fine after she pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Two other former crew members from the minesweeper also face courts martial.

Next month, a former communications specialist on HMCS Saskatoon will be court martialled under the same charge.The ship's former chief petty officer also faces trafficking charges, but no date has been set for his trial.

Robert's defence lawyer, Lt.-Cmdr. John McMunagle, said he is reluctant to comment on what these cases say abouthow widespreadillegal druguse is withinthe military.

"I don't even think it's appropriate for me to confirm whether or not there was or wasn't a drug culture.There were certain individuals that have been charged. Two of those individuals thus far have been tried and convicted.

"I think it's a fair characterization to say that my client was certainly, clearly,... a cocaine addict."

All four crew members were released from the Canadian Forces within months of their arrests. But officials said it's important to try cases like these in military courtto set an example for other soldiers and sailors.