Officer linked man to drug smuggler

A 30-year-old Mexican man was arrested and charged in connection with the city’s largest cocaine bust because he had booked a hotel room for a fellow Mexican caught with illicit drugs.

RCMP Sgt. Grant MacPhee of the RCMP said under cross-examination by defence lawyer Pat Fagan that the accused volunteered the fact he had reserved a room for Ricardo Rangel Corona at the airport hotel.

MacPhee said the accused told him he was waiting Sept. 2, 1999, for his mother to arrive from Texas.

It was then he received the call to book the room for Corona and his wife, Evelia Robles-Barreto.

Corona subsequently pleaded guilty to importing 60 kilograms of cocaine.

MacPhee said the accused claimed he did not know Corona or his wife.