Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Neal Hall, Staff Writer FORMER JAIL GUARD GETS 4-YEAR SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING Man Was Paid $2,000 By Prisoner After Smuggling Contraband Roger Brian Moore, a former corrections officer caught selling drugs in 2006 at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, was sentenced Friday to four years in prison. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Neill Brown said the crime was very serious because it put other corrections officers and prisoners at risk. The judge noted seven out of 10 convicts have drug-abuse problems. "Incarceration is a window of opportunity to interrupt the cycle of addiction," the judge said, pointing out that five people died of drug overdoses in provincial jails last year. The judge said once an officer is corrupted, it risks operational security and increases violence among the jail population. Moore also jeopardized the safety and security of his fellow officers, the judge said. Moore, 35, was the first provincial corrections officer in B.C. to be prosecuted for drug trafficking. He was convicted last Feb. 27 of trafficking marijuana, ecstasy and anabolic steroids. The prison value of the illegal drugs was $20,620. Moore also smuggled $10,000 worth of tobacco into the jail. After he was caught smuggling the contraband, Moore admitted he was paid $2,000 by a prisoner, Andrew Ajit Singh. Singh and his cellmate, Matthew James Johnston, were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking. Johnston is one of the accused in the Surrey Six murder case and Singh is named as a possible shooter in a civil lawsuit filed by Laurie Tinga, who was critically wounded in 2005 while watching TV in the living room of her Port Moody home when a stray bullet hit her in the head. After the contraband was found in the cell of Singh and Johnston, Moore made things worse by releasing other prisoners from their cells, which could have jeopardized the investigation, the judge said. A review of surveillance video found Moore handing Singh the contraband. Moore had worked as a corrections officer for seven years and previously worked as bouncer before taking criminology courses. Moore is among six B.C. corrections officers found to be corrupt. One, Edwin Ticne, 35, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for helping gang leader Omid Tahvili escape from the maximum-security North Fraser Pretrial Centre in 2007. Tahvili remains on the lam. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr