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Convicted drug ring leader granted parole

Yellowknife RCMP jail woman after she was sexually assaulted

A 37-year-old Yellowknife man who led a serious cocaine-trafficking ring in the Northwest Territories has been granted parole.

In a decision handed down on July 17, the Parole Board of Canada granted Norman Hache day parole, followed by full parole.

"Your motivation level and reintegration potential are assessed as high, and you are considered engaged in your correctional plan," states the board's decision.

The board granted Hache day parole at a community correctional centre or residential facility until he is eligible for full parole.

It's unclear where that correctional centre or residential facility would be, or when Hache would begin full parole. The parole board does not release that information publicly.

Hache is facing a number of conditions as part of the parole board's decision, including not consuming alcohol or drugs, avoiding people involved in criminal activity or substance abuse, and remaining employed.

He is also not allowed to have more than one mobile communication device, and has to report any relationships with women.

Sentence was handed down last year

Hache, who used to own Jerrie's Delivery Service in Yellowknife, was sentenced to five years in prison last August after pleading guilty to possessing and conspiring to traffic cocaine, and trying to arrange for a man to be assaulted.

He had three years left to serve of his sentence when taking into account time he had already served since his arrest in 2016.

Hache was one of many people who were implicated in the drug operation as the result of an 11-month RCMP investigation dubbed Project Green Manalishi.

Police seized fentanyl, crack cocaine, psilocybin — otherwise known as magic mushrooms — and a number of other drugs, as well as cash and weapons during the bust.

The drug operation brought drugs from Calgary to four N.W.T. communities, including Yellowknife.

'Realistic' plan for reintegration

The parole board's decision sheds light on Hache's troubled past.

He described his family to the board as "broken" and "abusive," and said his father was physically, emotionally and financially abusive.

Hache wound up living on the streets at the age of 14 or 15, after being kicked out of his home for hanging out with "negative peers."

He eventually became involved in drugs. And while there was a period of several years when Hache remained out of trouble, that all went downhill after a "positive relationship" he was in ended.

But Hache seems to be working to turn his life around, according to the parole board's decision. It states he has earned his GED, has been taking part in programming and took part in a paid work release. He has been accepted to school and told the board he hopes to bond with his son and other family members.

The board said Hache has a "realistic and attainable plan" and has "strong positive supports in the community who will continue to assist you in your reintegration efforts."