cocaine

Canada: Yellowknife man charged with cocaine trafficking asks judge to return seized money for lawyer fees

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2023

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CBC reports

A Yellowknife man facing cocaine trafficking charges is applying to use cash seized during a raid of his apartment last year to pay for a lawyer.

Abdulkadir Dirshe appeared in N.W.T. Supreme Court in Yellowknife Monday morning to argue for the return of $61,335 police seized from his apartment last spring.

In his application Dirshe, who was released on bail in November, says it will cost between $75,000 and $100,000 to hire a defence lawyer. He’s facing three drug trafficking charges and one charge of possessing the proceeds of crime.

Almost an hour into the hearing, Justice Louise Charbonneau imposed a publication ban on all the evidence presented during the hearing to avoid complicating any potential jury trial.

Crown prosecutors Nikita McFadden and Brendan Green argued that the money should not be returned. Dirshe answered questions from his lawyer, who appeared over a video link, and the prosecutors. A police witness also testified.

At the time of Dirshe’s arrest, RCMP said the charges against him and four others were the result of a three-month investigation. They said a total of $70,535 in cash was seized along with 20 pieces of cocaine and a small amount of powdered cocaine.

The application to get back seized funds happens in two stages. The first stage determines if the applicant meets the criteria for return of the money — including being lawfully entitled to the seized possession and having no other assets or means available. If Dirshe is found to meet the criteria, the hearing will move into the second stage to determine the reasonableness of legal expenses.

None of the charges against Dirshe have been proven in court.

Source

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yellowknife-man-drug-trafficking-seized-cash-1.6731370

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cocaine

Shipment of grapes entering Canada hid massive stash of suspected cocaine

Published

3 weeks ago

November 3, 2024

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More than 600 kilograms of suspected cocaine — roughly the weight of a concert grand piano — was discovered inside a shipment of grapes intercepted by border officers earlier this month.

The seizure took place on Oct. 15 at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency says an investigation is underway with law enforcement partners.

The agency declined an interview and said it doesn’t comment on the status of ongoing investigations.

CBSA hasn’t provided an estimate of the street value of the 615 kilograms, but earlier this year estimated the value of a cocaine seizure less than half this size at $6.5 million.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-cocaine-grapes-1.7368639

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UK: Drug dealer caught with imitation gun and cocaine after swearing at passing police car

Published

1 month ago

October 19, 2024

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Miguel Mota, 18, was stopped by neighbourhood police officers after he shouted abuse at them and then tried to run. In the video above, the officer can be heard saying “You’re bringing attention to yourself by saying ‘f**k you’ as we drive past you”.

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Dad of Brit facing 60yrs in US prison for ‘trying to smuggle £3.5m in cocaine’ insists she is ‘only guilty of stupidity’

Published

1 month ago

October 15, 2024

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THE DAD of a Brit beautician facing up to 60 years in jail in the US after allegedly smuggling £3.5million worth of cocaine has insisted she is “only guilty of stupidity”.

John Hall, 59, defended his daughter Kim, 28, after she was detained at Chicago’s O’Hare airport as she was waiting for her connecting flight to Manchester.

The dad said she was offered the free holiday by people she met on an earlier trip to Portugal.

And he insisted all she is guilty of is “stupidity and naivety” as they desperately wait for news.

John said that she is “petrified” – and that at first she could barely speak to her family through floods of tears after the arrest.

The dad is convinced that Kim would have been “forced” to carry the drugs “without a shadow of a doubt”.

John told The Sun: “She’s not a drug smuggler.

“She was told that it would be money she was carrying. They got her phone and threatened her family and that’s why she did it.

“She’d been to Portugal with a friend and met people over there who contacted her when she was back saying they were into real estate in Mexico and she could go for a free holiday.

“Her friend declined but she said she would go.

Read more stupidity

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/31038866/dad-brit-drug-mule-cocaine-prison/

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