MONTREAL - A 31-year-old former customs agent for Canada Border Services Agency took the stand Monday to defend herself against allegations she accepted bribes to help the mob smuggle drugs into Canada in 2005.
On trial for corruption and conspiracy to import drugs, police claim Marilyn Beliveau provided the mafia with information to assist them in importing huge quantities of cocaine through the Port of Montreal.
Beliveau insisted her only crime was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and that she became involved in the trafficking scheme for attention and some money, which she never received.
Beliveau told the court that she was proud to become a customs agent, earning $50,000 per year, having job security and making her family proud.
She said she was taken advantage of by childhood friend Rony Bardales and his associates.
Bardales was friends with international drug brokers Ray Kanho and Giuseppe Torre, who are both serving 14-year sentences for crimes including corruption and drug trafficking related to the Projet Colisee mafia crackdown.
Torre became fascinated with Beliveau, she testified Monday, claiming he often asked her to check into details related to his import-export business in the CBSA database.
Beliveau now admits she gave some information to Torre, but never passed along any sensitive information.
She told the court she expected no more than a few hundred dollars for checking information, and never received it.
A wiretap showed that members of a Haitian street gang said they exploited her for their criminal endeavours.
The trial resumes Friday.
