Cocaine seizure was behind abduction of N.Y. couple, Montreal court told

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The lead investigator in the kidnapping of Sandra and James Helm said everything began when their grandson was arrested with cocaine.

Guillaume Poirier, the lead Sûreté du Québec investigator in the case against Gary Arnold, 54, revealed the motive while testifying Thursday morning to the jury hearing the accused’s trial at the Montreal courthouse. Poirier has been an investigator with the SQ’s crimes against persons division since 2013.From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.

Poirier said the SQ’s investigation began by asking a phone company to use geo-localization to determine where James Helm’s cellphone was. He said the phone company was able to trace Helm’s phone to a point on Highway 95 in the state of New York at 11 p.m. the night the couple was kidnapped. It also placed the phone at somewhere in the middle of the St. Lawrence River after 9 a.m. the following morning.

The two people who made the 20 calls to Michael Helm — Taylor Lawrence Martin, 38, of Akwasasne and Kosmas Dritsas, 51, of Town of Mount Royal — have been referred to as accomplices in the kidnapping during Arnold’s trial this week. The jury also listened to recordings of six phone conversations the SQ managed to record between the targets of their investigation.

“It’s bullshit, bro. They can make that up,” Dritsas said while apparently refusing to believe the cocaine had been seized. During the calls that followed, one of the kidnappers suggested that they leave the Helms somewhere and tell their son where he could find them.

 

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