The defendant, Thomas Nsiah, was charged with possession of cocaine and fentanyl for trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.
The court found that a strip search conducted by police at the detachment violated the defendant's section 8 Charter rights, as it was unreasonable and unauthorized, lacking proper grounds or procedure.
Applying the Grant analysis, the court excluded the drug evidence obtained from the vehicle.
In the alternative, the court found that the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had knowledge and control of the concealed drugs, given the lack of forensic evidence linking him to the hidden compartment and the vehicle's non-ownership by the defendant.
