Possession & Possession for Purpose of Trafficking Cases

Client was charged with trafficking over 24 grams of heroin/fentanyl and 24 grams of crack cocaine and other controlled substances. The client had a related criminal record. Cathryn conducted a contested sentencing hearing days after the R v. Chen decision was issued, which struck down the legislation that made a Conditional Sentence Order, not available for drug trafficking, as unconstitutional. The Crown sought a jail sentence of 2 years.

Client was pulled over for a routine traffic stop. During the stop, police conducted an illegal search of his vehicle on the premise of looking for his driver’s license when the client failed to produce identification. The client was strip searched at the side of the road and detained without access to counsel while police searched his vehicle. Police located a large amount of cocaine packaged in individual dime bags and a pricing sheet.

Client was caught consuming cocaine in the bathroom of a club in Whistler, BC. When approached by security staff, the client impersonated a police officer with a badge he had on his person. The client was removed from the club and subsequently found outside in Whistler Village consuming cocaine again, this time by RCMP officers. Client was arrested for impersonating an RCMP officer and for possession of cocaine. Ms. Forhan assisted the client in obtaining a positive risk assessment report and community reference letters prior to sentencing.

Client attended a local music festival, Faded in the Park, where he sold MDMA to an undercover police officer. Client was arrested and charged with PPT. Ms. Forhan assessed the police disclosure and confirmed that there had been no breaches of the client’s Charter rights and ruled out the defence of entrapment. Despite there being no substantive defence, Ms. Forhan successfully negotiated a stay of proceedings after months of gruelling negotiation with the Federal Crown Prosecutor. Ms. Forhan obtained approval for this exceptional result from a senior member of the PPSC office. To our knowledge this is the only case arising from the Faded in the Park arrests where Alternative Measures was obtained.

Police were called to the Toronto Airport and met with airport employees who had discovered three brick shaped packages of cocaine in checked luggage. A second bag was also checked with a further four brick shaped packages of cocaine. The total weight was 8.029 kilograms and estimated value was $321,160.00. The passenger associated with the checked bags was arrested and removed from the plane.

The client, who was represented by different counsel at the sentencing hearing, was sentenced to 6 months jail for trafficking cocaine. Cathryn Moore was retained for the sentencing appeal. She successfully argued that a suspended sentence, where the offender serves his sentence on conditions in the community, was more appropriate than a jail sentence.

The client had been arrested in Manitoba during an attempted delivery of 4 liters of GHB. She was delivering the drugs for her boyfriend who was a mid-level trafficker. Meghan Forhan had the file transferred from Manitoba to British Columbia for sentencing. At the time of sentencing the client had recovered from her own drug addiction and successfully started a new life here in British Columbia. Despite the client having turned her life around, overcoming her own addiction, the Crown Counsel was still seeking a 3 year jail sentence.

Police conducted an undercover operation targeting dial-a-dope drug operation. Undercover officer purchasing heroin and fentanyl from passenger in vehicle driven by accused. Surveillance continued, and accused was observed carrying out 16 more transactions consistent with trafficking. Accused was arrested and was found to be in possession of 7.32 grams of crack and cocaine and 12 baggies, each containing .88 grams of heroin and fentanyl. Accused pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in fentanyl and heroin.

Accused client arrested following a search warrant on his commercial agricultural property. Found on the property was approximately 15,900 marijuana plants in excess of the 989 authorized under the MMAR to be grown at that location. Also found were 113 pounds of dried marihuana, 46 pounds of packaged marihuana, 32 grams of hashish, and 5.5 grams of marijuana oil.

Accused arrested outside a nightclub in Whistler, BC for possession of cocaine. Accused was arrested for being belligerent and passing out at the front of the establishment, upon arrest a baggie of cocaine was located in his shirt pocket. Accused had no criminal record and was in Canada on a visitor’s Visa from Australia and was not a Canadian Citizen.

The accused was stopped and searched by Vancouver police officers investigating a complaint about a threatening with a knife. The first police officer frisked the accused and discovered marihuana. A second police officer conducted a more thorough search and discovered cocaine.