Importing and Exporting Drugs (Sentencing Cases)
| This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2018. (Rev. # 88500) |
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Case Digests
| Case Name | Prv. | Crt. | Sentence | Drug / Quant. | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R v Ojukwu, 2020 ONSC 743 (CanLII), per Lemay J | ON  |
SC | 5 years | ||
| R v Safroni, 2019 ONSC 3022 (CanLII), per Ricchetti J | ON |
SC | 2 years | ||
| R v Hasankhani, 2018 ONSC 3669 (CanLII), per Baltman J | ON |
SC | 5 years | 5 kg opium | |
| R v Sarjoghian, 2018 ONSC 3142 (CanLII), per Emery J | ON |
SC | 4.5 years | 4.6 kg opium | |
| R v Bayrami-Asl, 2017 ONSC 2055 (CanLII), per LeMay J | ON |
SC | 5 years imprisonment | 3.9 kg opium | The offender was convicted at trial of importing opium. |
| R v Kaneza, 2016 ABCA 411 (CanLII), per Martin JA | AB  |
CA | 11 years (importing) 7 years (trafficking) |
2.92 kg Heroin | The offender was stopped at the airport in Edmonton flying in from Europe. She was found with heroin with a street value between 870k and 1.7 million. She was 27 years old at the time of the offence and had three children. |
| R v Aujla, 2015 ONCA 350 (CanLII), per Benotto JA | ON |
CA | 10 and 12 years | 37 kg | two accused imported cocaine in an ice-cream truck. Alleged they were "blind couriers". |
| R v Salamat Ravandi, [2015 B.C.J. No. 2537 (B.C.S.C.)], per B.M. Davies J | BC  |
SC | 4.5 years | "sentenced a 36 year old accused with no criminal record to four and a half years for the importation of 17.95 kilograms of opium. The Crown in that case suggested a range of five to seven years. Davies J. reviewed a number of cases, including some British Columbia cases I have not referred to, and held that the appropriate range of sentence was three to seven years and “not the much higher range appropriate for sentencing for the importation of heroin or cocaine” (para. 33)." | |
| R v Zeisig, 2014 ONSC 3529 (CanLII), per Tzimas J | ON |
SC | 4.5 years | 1.9 kg | Offender was importing cocaine at Pearson airport. |
| R v Rodriguez, 2014 ONSC 2928 (CanLII), per O’Connor J | ON | SC | 6 years imprisonment | 1.5 kg | imported heroin from Columbia. The offender was aged 69 years old and suffers from colon cancer. |
| R v Ifejika, 2013 ONCA 531 (CanLII), per curiam | ON |
CA | 7 years imprisonment | 500 g heroin | convicted at trial |
| R v Von Holtum, 2013 BCCA 384 (CanLII), per Neilson JA | BC |
CA | 12 years imprisonment | 50kg cocaine | baggage handler at Vancouver Airport assisted in importing cocaine |
| R v Akintunde, 2013 ONSC 2766(*no CanLII links) | ON |
SC | 8 years imprisonment (importation) 4 years imprisonment (traff.) |
398 grams of heroin (import) 280 grams of heroin (traff) | |
| R v Robinson, 2012 ONSC 1613 (CanLII), per Goodman J | ON |
SC | 8 years imprisonment | 3.532kg cocaine | The offender was found guilty of importing cocaine. She was arrested at the Toronto Airport arriving from Jamaica carrying the cocaine. |
| R v Kandola, 2012 BCSC 1042 (CanLII), per Romilly J | BC |
SC | 14 years imprisonment | 208 kg of cocaine | offender employed by CBSA - also convicted of importing guns |
| R v Palfrey, 2012 SKQB 487 (CanLII), per Keene J | SK  |
SC | 14 years imprisonment | ||
| R v Knockwood, 2012 ONSC 2238 (CanLII), per Hill J | ON |
SC | 6 years imprisonment | 997 g heroin | |
| R v Payne, 2012 CanLII 41098 (NLSCTD), per Goodridge J | NL | SC | 5 years, 7 months | 3 kg | also importing 12k pills and marijuana. Total street value of $645,000.00. |
| R v Razmara, 2012 ONCA 13 (CanLII), per curiam | ON | CA | 14 years imprisonment | importation of large amount of cocaine | |
| R v Dixon and Westover, 2012 ONSC 4171 (CanLII), per Taliano J | ON |
SC | 5 years (import, Westover) 6 years (import, Dixon) |
The two offenders conspired to import cocaine. | |
| R v Chukwu, 2011 ONSC 2216 (CanLII), [2011] OJ No 3356, per Kiteley J |
ON |
SC | 4 years (importation) 2 years (poss'n) 6 months (other CC) |
1.4 kg cocaine | |
| R v Gurm, [2009 O.J. No. 5007 (S.C.J.)], {{{4}}} |
ON |
SC | 2 years less a day | "my colleague Justice Wein imposed a sentence of two years less one day to be followed by a period of probation. The weight of the opium imported in that case is not stated but the street value is specified as being between $10,000 and $17,000. There were indications the accused was a user. A para. 6 Justice Wein found that the quantity imported was suggestive of only small scale distribution." | |
| R v Sidhu, [2008] OJ No 3479(C.J.)(*no CanLII links)
, varied 2009 ONCA 81 (CanLII), 242 C.C.C (3d) 273 |
ON | CA | 14 years, 9 months | 9.56 kilograms of heroin | |
| R v Rashidi-Alavijie, 2007 ONCA 712 (CanLII) | ON |
CA | 5.5 years | "the court upheld a sentence of five and a half years imposed by J. Murray J. (see [2006] O.J. No. 4015) for the importation of 5.9 kilograms of opium. The appellant in that case was 36 years old, had no criminal record and was not a user of opium." | |
| R v Jones, 2006 CanLII 28086 (ON CA, per Doherty JA | ON |
CA | 40 months imprisonment | 849 gr cocaine | The offender was caught arriving from Jamaica at Toronto Airport. |
| R v Hamilton and Mason, 2004 CanLII 5549 (ON CA), per Doherty JA | ON |
CA | 20 months, 2 years less a day | 349 gr | Both offenders pleaded guilty to importing cocaine. They were both couriers who were caught at the Toronto airport returning from Jamaica. Hamilton had swallowed pellets of cocaine worth about $70,000. Mason swallowed 489 gr of cocaine. Hamilton was 26 years old with no record. She as a single mother. Mason was 31 year old single mother with no record. |
| R v Aghabeigi, 2004 BCCA 263 (CanLII) | BC |
CA | 3 years | "the court upheld a three year sentence imposed at trial for the importation of 9.6 kilograms of opium hidden in the lining of suitcases. The court described the sentence as lenient but found no basis to interfere with the trial judge’s sentence. The accused in that case was a 41 year old woman with no criminal record who suffered from depression and some other health problems. The court did refer to two other cases that supported a sentence in the range of six to seven years for such an offence. This case appears to me to establish the bottom of the range for the importation of multiple kilograms of opium at three years." | |
| R v Bajada, 2003 CanLII 15687 (ON CA, per Weiler JA | ON |
CA | 6 years imprisonment | 1.5 kg cocaine | |
| R v Syblis, 2001 CanLII 24127 (ON CA, per curiam | ON |
CA | 7 years (import cocaine) 4 years (import, hash) |
2.13 kg cocaine and 1 kg hashish | |
| R v Alleyne, 1998 CanLII 2116 (ON CA, per curiam | ON | CA | 7 years | 2.5 powder cocaine | The offender was a drug courier. He had no prior record. |
| R v Madden, 1996 CanLII 10228 (ON CA, per Finlayson JA | ON |
CA | 3 years imprisonment | 770 gr cocaine | The offender was caught at Toronto airport returning from Jamaica with cocaine in her belongings. She plead guilty. She was 23 years old with no record. |
| R v Cunningham, 1996 CanLII 1311 (ON CA, per curiam | ON | CA | 5kg cocaine | The offender was a courier who carried the cocaine in her suitcase and was caught at the Toronto airport coming back from a short trip to St. Lucia. The street value of the package was about $500,000. She as 21 years old with no prior record. She was motivated by personal gain and made about $4,000 for the package. | |
| R v Abolmolouk, [1987] O.J. No. 926 (C.A.)(*no CanLII links) | ON |
CA | 805 gr opium | "the court allowed an appeal from a sentence of seven years for the importation of 805 grams of opium by a 40 year old appellant who had no criminal record. Taking note of the fact that the appellant had spent six months in pretrial custody the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to four years" |