Pubdate: Wed, 19 Aug 2009
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Bob Mitchell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.)

POT WASN'T MINE, OFFICER TELLS COURT

A 14-year veteran Peel Police officer, accused of  stealing fake 
cocaine from a botched RCMP drug  delivery, today explained why some 
marijuana was also  found in his garage during a search.

Const. Sheldon Cook said the pot was found in one of 10  boxes stored 
in his garage by his brother Darren. The  property belonged to his 
brother's former tenant, who  skipped out on his rent from a condo 
leased by his  brother, a real estate agent.

"I had absolutely no knowledge there was any marijuana  in my 
garage," Cook, 40, testified today at his  Brampton trial. "There was 
no odour indicating  marijuana was there. If I had known, obviously I 
would never have allowed the boxes to be stored in my  garage."

Cook told his lawyer Pat Ducharme that Brake moved to  Newfoundland 
and has not been located, court heard.

Cook's brother also stored some of his own property in  the garage 
and a backyard shed while his new condo was  being built, court heard.

The marijuana and 15 fake bricks of cocaine were  discovered by the 
RCMP in Cook's garage in Cambridge  during a search warrant on Nov. 
18, 2005. They were led  there by a GPS tracking unit hidden among 
the dummy  drugs.

Cook has pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges  in the trial 
which began in November. Cook's charges  include attempt to possess a 
controlled substance for  the purpose of trafficking, possession of 
marijuana for  the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen 
property and breach of trust as a police officer.

He remains suspended with pay

Federal prosecutors say Cook took the drugs, which he  believed were 
real during his involvement in a crew  investigating the seizure of 
102 bricks of suspected  cocaine from a courier truck the night 
before in  Mississauga.

The drugs turned out to be flour, part of a  mistake-filled RCMP 
controlled delivery from Peru to  Canada that went missing 12 hours 
earlier after  arriving at Pearson International Airport.

The trial is continues.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom