6. Regina v. D.H.D. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary – March 2014]

DHD arrived in Calgary from Vancouver on a Greyhound bus. Undercover police “profiled” DHD and confronted him in the bus station lobby. A scripted Q&A followed which lead to a so-called “consent” search of his checked bag. The search revealed the presence of approximately 220 individually wrapped pieces of crack cocaine. DHD was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. We rejected the Crown’s unsolicited offer of a 2 year jail term. Bottom Line: the Crown ultimately acknowledged the constitutional shortcomings relative to the apprehension, questioning and search of DHD resulting in the complete withdrawal of all charges.