R v. SAJ [Court of Justice, Calgary – October 2023]

SUMMARY: SAJ got caught up in a Calgary Police Service (“CPS”) undercover operation during which he is alleged to have sold street level quantities of cocaine to undercover officers on no less than 3 separate occasions. On the date of SAJ’s arrest, the police also executed a Warrant to Search his Calgary home where they found approximately $10,000.00 cash. As a consequence, SAJ was charged with the following offences:

• 3 counts of trafficking in cocaine contrary to Section 5(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 
• Possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.00 contrary to Section 355(a) of the Criminal Code 

BOTTOM LINE: Drug trafficking charges arising from hand-to-hand transactions with undercover officers are extremely difficult to defend. In Patrick Fagan’s review and analysis of police reports, he found an “angle” which resulted in the complete withdrawal of all charges against SAJ just prior to commencement of the preliminary inquiry.

Patrick Fagan was also successful in securing a Court order directing that all cash seized from SAJ be returned to him.