'Matriarch' of Point Douglas pink crack cocaine operation sentenced to 10 years in prison
Sandra Guiboche, 60, pleaded guilty last fall to conspiring to traffic cocaine as head of drug network
A woman dubbed the "matriarch" at the centre of a pink crack cocaine trafficking ring headquartered in Winnipeg's Point Douglas area has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Sandra Guiboche, 60, pleaded guilty last fall to one count of conspiring to traffic cocaine. On Tuesday, Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Ken Champagne sentenced her to 10 years, saying the sentence would've been longer were it not for her age and health-related issues, and her guilty plea.
"This was her organization and she ruled it with an iron fist. She was the president and CEO. She was involved in every aspect of the drug organization," said Champagne.
"The damage and devastation caused by drug trafficking organizations supplying crack cocaine to the community is massive.… Ms. Guiboche was the kingpin."
Guiboche had initially pleaded not guilty and was set to go on trial, until she changed her plea last fall.
Crown prosecutor Kate Henley was seeking a 10-year prison sentence. Guiboche's defence lawyers, including Saul Simmonds, sought seven to eight years.
Several of the dozen or so people in the gallery Tuesday to support Guiboche gasped and cried when Champagne delivered his decision, during which he emphasized the importance of sending a message of deterrence to other drug dealers.
Guiboche, who wasn't in custody through the court proceedings, sat in her wheelchair next to the prisoner's box as sheriffs cuffed her and wheeled her away.
She and more than 20 others were arrested by Winnipeg police in 2021 following a months-long investigation called Project Matriarch.
Several of the others arrested have already been convicted and given sentences as high as eight years, Champagne said Tuesday.
Guiboche's operation consisted of turning powder cocaine into highly pure crack rocks, court heard. Her products were dyed pink in colour as a branding ploy, to make them stand out from the competition.
Winnipeg police intercepted thousands of communications between her and her associates via wiretaps.
Police estimated the operation made $660,000 in profits during just the period of their five-month investigation, some of which was laundered via VLTs at a casino.
They also had undercover investigators stake out one of her 10 properties, known as the "crack shack" on Lisgar Avenue, where they bought crack 42 times.
Several properties and other assets were seized as part of the police investigation.
'Message to those at the top of the hierarchy': judge
Last week, court heard from a community activist who described high levels of activity in Guiboche's properties at all hours, with people going in and out, and how the operation made Point Douglas residents "feel intimidated" and "like prisoners in their own homes."
"It is clear this drug organization had already taken hold of this neighbourhood" when the investigation began, said Champagne.
He pointed to some of those impacts to the immediate community around her 10 houses, which he said were purchased at "strategic locations" so she could keep tabs on activity in and around her properties.
She employed family and loved ones, some of whom lived in and worked from the homes she owned, court heard.
Champagne also said dyeing her product pink served a dual purpose, as it allowed her to track whether any competitors were dealing crack in her neighbourhood.
"She knows the promise of easy money makes it dangerous, violence is part of the business, protection of the turf is part of the business, " said Champagne. "Guiboche claimed North Point Douglas as part of her territory."
Simmonds was seeking a lesser sentence in part due to Guiboche's guilty plea and mobility issues resulting from a stroke over a decade ago. She also has an ongoing heart condition.
The defence lawyer also submitted several character reference letters written on Guiboche's behalf ahead of sentencing.
He maintained that though Guiboche had been previously incarcerated for drug-related offences, she got back into trafficking not just for economic interest, but also due to an interest in providing a safer alternative to the tainted drugs she saw killing or harming people around her.
Guiboche allegedly paid for addictions treatment for people in her life because she was a "caring individual who actually wants to help other people," Simmonds told court last week, when Guiboche also apologized.
A Gladue report submitted to the court revealed Guiboche, who is Métis, has a history of physical and sexual abuse suffered in her youth, as well as past addictions issues she has struggled with off and on for years.
Champagne noted that in spite of her remorse, her age and health-related conditions, her traumatic upbringing and more, she was the most morally culpable person in the drug organization, and so needed to be disciplined accordingly.
"The message to those at the top of the hierarchy operating sophisticated drug trafficking organizations must be clear: there will be a steep price to pay upon conviction," he said.
"Protection of the community and public confidence in the criminal justice system demands nothing less."
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With files from Caitlyn Gowriluk