Search warrant application granted at fentanyl trafficking trial

Lawyers of two men who are on trial, accused of trafficking fentanyl-laced cocaine tied to fatal overdoses in Saskatoon, can question a police officer about a search warrant that led to their clients’ arrest. 

Judge Doug Agnew determined the test required for a Garofoli hearing was met after the defence filed the application on Tuesday, at the beginning of the accused men’s trial in Saskatoon provincial court. 

Shervin Dass Beeharry, 20, and Japmanjot Grewal, 22, have pleaded not guilty to several drug trafficking and weapons charges. They are accused of selling fentanyl-laced cocaine to seven people who overdosed on March 10, 2018.

Four of those overdoses were fatal. 

The men are also charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death, but those charges are being dealt with separately. 

Agnew has allowed the defence to cross-examine the police officer who provided a judge with information to obtain a search warrant. The application seeks to ensure the process was fair and the information provided was accurate.

The search warrant was granted and executed on a home on Pawlychenko Lane, where officers seized heroin, marijuana, cocaine mixed with fentanyl, $14,210 in cash and a .45-calibre Norinco semi-automatic pistol, according to police.

The accused men were subsequently arrested. 

Defence lawyers had to first prove the men were living in the house and therefore had a reasonable expectation of privacy. Agnew agreed, allowing them to argue for the ability to challenge the search warrant information. 

Cross-examination is the only way to find out what an officer “ought to have known” when requesting a search warrant, the defence argued.

The evidence presented during the hearing is subject to a publication ban, which remains in effect until the conclusion of the trial, because it originated from the men’s bail hearings. 

Drug-related charged against a third co-accused, Azam Kabani, were withdrawn last week. He is still before the court charged with manslaughter. 

bmcadam@postmedia.com

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