Cocaine dealer to be deported, another must repay $212K after serving prison term
Jared Devloo, Jason Ong last of 14 charged in Project Distress sting
The last of 14 people charged in a 2014 police probe that targeted high-level cocaine dealers are headed to prison.
Jared Devloo 38, and Jason Ong 32, were convicted of a number of drug offences, including conspiracy to traffic cocaine, in October 2017 and had been awaiting sentencing.
Friday morning, dozens of their friends and family packed a Manitoba courtroom to support the two men in the final moments of their freedom.
"Drugs such as cocaine wreak havoc in our community … the moral culpability of those involved in selling drugs as a business activity is very high and they must be treated severely," said Court of Queen's Bench Justice Colleen Suche.
Devloo, who the judge said was "effectively in charge" of the drug sales, was sentenced to two 10-year prison terms to be served concurrently and fined $212,000 — the price the police agent paid for four kilos of cocaine in the covert operation. Devloo must repay the money within five years of his release from prison or he will spend an additional three years behind bars.
Ong, who received two eight-year prison sentences to be served concurrently, will be deported to the Philippines on his release.
The Crown had asked for a 12-year prison term for both men, while the defence argued they should get between four and seven years.
This situation is an example of the devastation that individuals bring to their lives and the lives of their families when they choose to participate in the illegal drug trade.- Court of Queen's Bench Justice Colleen Suche
Ong and his family immigrated to Canada from Manila in 2005. He is a permanent resident, but not yet a Canadian citizen. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act a noncitizen convicted of a serious crime is deemed inadmissible.
Suche said Ong will be returned to the Philippines and never be allowed to come back.
Ong's wife and mother cried when they heard the verdict.
"This situation is an example of the devastation that individuals bring to their lives and the lives of their families when they choose to participate in the illegal drug trade," Suche said.
She says the two men were motivated by greed and the lure of big money, but reminded the court that the illegal drug trade is a risky business.
"Devloo and Ong both had lives that offered them much to be content with … their families will pay the consequences of their actions for the rest of their lives," Suche said.
Project Distress
The joint police task force used an agent to target high-level drug dealers in the 2014 year long covert investigation dubbed "Project Distress." Details of the police probe were revealed in the 2017 trial.
Crown attorneys Judy Kliewer and Victoria Cornick said Devloo found the customers, set the prices and terms of the transactions, while Ong managed the specifics of the deal and dealt with the people tasked with delivering the drug packages.
The Crown said the two men were part of a sophisticated operation that moved kilos of cocaine with couriers and used counter-surveillance techniques to avoid getting caught, something the judge took into consideration in sentencing.
"Other than situations of an addict selling drugs to support their habit, denunciation and deterrence are the paramount and overwhelming considerations when sentencing those who traffick in hard drugs," Suche said.
Devloo was a successful property developer and owner of Jerway Holdings Ltd. — a company that has built a number of homes across the city, including a 30-unit condo in St. Norbert. He was one of the pallbearers for Frank or Franco Nucci, a high-level cocaine dealer with ties to organized crime who was shot to death in Montreal in 2005.
At the June sentencing hearing Devloo's lawyer, Saul Simmonds, said his client was a business man who was devoted to his family and had only participated in the drug sales to help a friend, but the judge didn't buy it.
"Devloo was knowledgeable and experienced in the practices of the drug trade, employing sophisticated and expensive counter-surveillance techniques," Suche said.
Devloo well connected with other dealers
The judge said Devloo was well connected with other dealers and knew the price and availability of cocaine across the country.
"He knew when the agent made purchases from other targets; and he was aware of the details of various prior police operations ... As for his business practices, I note, he wanted the agent to find him some muscle to deal with unco-operative debtors on his condominium project," Suche said
Ong's lawyer, Kristen Jones, said her client had a cocaine addiction for which he has since completed treatment. Ong told the court he was sorry for his role in the drug ring and takes full responsibility for his actions.
Suche said that while Ong has worked hard to demonstrate he has been rehabilitated, she can't overlook the fact that he was not only part of a high-level drug ring, he was a member of the management team and had even travelled to the organization's head office in Manila..
"He was responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars of product … When all of the circumstances are considered, I am of the view that a fit and proper sentence is eight years imprisonment."
Ong and Devloo, who had been out on bail, were taken into custody at the end of the sentencing hearing. Both men will be processed, then taken to prison to begin serving their time.
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