Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB) Contact: 2003 The Calgary Sun Website: http://www.fyicalgary.com/calsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67 Author: Kevin Martin, Calgary Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COURT HEARS COCAINE RAMPANT Cocaine trafficking in Calgary is rampant, with the drug available on just about every downtown street corner, an expert testified yesterday. And Det. Pat Tetley told a hearing into the sentencing of a Hells Angels dealer that the more the drug is sold, the greater the risk of violence. "The drug trade involves large amounts of money, it's an investment and people protect their investment with weapons," he told Crown prosecutor Eeva White. "Our undercover operatives know that they can be stabbed or shot," Tetley said. Jason Steistol, 31, pleaded guilty last fall to charges of trafficking in cocaine and ecstasy. Steistol, who was then a Hells Angels prospect, began selling cocaine and pills to an undercover officer in May 2000 during a police sting. MAN SOLD COCAINE By the end of the summer Steistol was a full member of the club. In all, Steistol sold five ounces of cocaine and 293 tablets of ecstasy to police worth an estimated street value of $150,000. Tetley said the amounts sold by Steistol would make him a major dealer of cocaine, the primary drug of concern in Calgary. "The cocaine trafficking in Calgary is at such an extent right now that on most street corners ... somebody could eventually buy cocaine," he said. Tetley said one day last summer he observed 56 transactions in 90 minutes while sitting in a cafe in a downtown hotel. Under cross-examination, the officer conceded it was possible, albeit unlikely, Steistol may only have had access to the five ounces he sold to the operatives, not the kilograms normally available to such dealers. Sentencing arguments are scheduled for this morning. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk