Honest Suspect, Out Maneuvers Police Sting-Operations
The plan was simple; it was plan in disguise… follow funds given to a known drug dealer for his legal defense while incarcerated, in order to see if he would use those funds for illicit purchases once released.
An investigation into drug trafficking operations in South Western Ontario began in 2003 and cumulated during the summer of 2004. Project Ozzi sought the arrest of 31 suspects involved in trafficking various controlled substances thru the 12 month period. This investigation involved 192 police officers from various jurisdictions throughout Ontario. The investigation finalized once the suspects were arrested with the use of 3 wire-taps authorizations. During that time, another investigation involving money laundering was started by the London RCMP IPOC unit while the accused faced the Kitchener RCMP charges. The suspect was directly instructed by the crown attorney Rowcliffe to collect legal fees while undertaking a Rowbotham Application which allows seized funds to be used for reasonable legal and living expenses. Once the suspect made these requests, the suspect was arrested by officers from the Guelph Police Service. Inadvertently the suspect was arrested on a bail violation. Funds which were requested from various unnamed sources were given to a 3rd party, acting as an intermediary for the suspect’s legal defense. Once the suspect was released in 2008, he distanced himself from his previous lifestyle and went back to university while completing his BA and MBA.
The police waited... and waited... and waited for 3 years now. Since the plan was already set 3 years prior in 2005’, the police now had to wait while the suspect completed his university all the while waiting to see where the marked money (FINTRAC & CRATS system) would go. While some waited, some retired and some lost interest of these funds, etc. the suspect now decided to start a small online company and pursue his MBA in 2010, the police once again waited and waited and waited. In 2015 the police could wait no more, they decided to execute a search warrant (surreptitious entry warrants were made over the duration of the10 years illegally) which resulted in the search/seizure of funds prior to the suspects coming into contact with marked money. By illegally searching the premise without a search or surreptitious entry warrant, the contents of that search or evidence found during the search are inadmissible for trial, if the defense question the legality of the search during a pretrial (voir dire) motion. This legal maneuver has been characterized as being somewhat skeptical by legal analysts, since the suspect must come into contact with those hypothetical and alleged tainted funds. This is attributed to the fact that 3rd party intermediary did not know the origins of the funds and the suspect in fact had a Rowbotham Judicial Order in place which allowed him to use these funds for reasonable living and legal expenses.
To complete the sting operation, the suspect had to come into contact with those funds first hand. Instead a phone call reception at a phone booth was used in order to justify and execute a search warrant. The suspects finally completes his 12 year sentence and low and behold arrives to meet the 3rd party intermediary, he sees those funds (which were allowed thru a judicial order to help for his legal defense) which were given in a ‘controlled’ delivery. Some legal experts question why the police chose to foil the 10 year investigation a year prior to having the suspect caught red handed.
"The shadows whispered of an arrest with the calmness of the last decade now materializing in a minute of indecision"
Nonetheless, the stage was set, the longest running drug sting operation was now set to finalize once the suspect came into contact with those funds. Police were elated beyond measure that the sting operation would finally result in the suspect being arrested. The suspect finally arrives on the scene. The shadows whispered of an arrest with the calmness of the last decade now materializing in a minute of indecision and the suspect did what no ex-criminal has done in the past…. he picked up those funds and brought them into the RCMP station. Mr. Mc Echrin, Ms. McNeil, Ms. Fanway and Mr. Morton brokered the forfeiture application for the RCMP, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Department of Justice and the Federal Crown’s office. Lenard Ro commented that “essentially he did not foil the sting operation and was grateful that the police allowed him to return ‘lawyer fee’s as he didn’t remember that he had them”. He also commented that the ‘police should have reminded him’ and thanked the ”Crown’s office, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Clark, Mr. Nugent, Justice Epstein’… “and all of the other law enforcement men and women who work tirelessly keeping our cities safe on a daily basis”.
