The applicants, charged with trafficking contraband shisha tobacco, brought a Garofoli application challenging the validity of multiple general and search warrants.
They argued the warrants were based on insufficient grounds, unreliable confidential informants, and misleading information provided by the affiant.
The court reviewed the Information to Obtain (ITO) for each warrant, applying the Debot criteria to assess the informants' reliability.
The court found that while there were some errors and misleading statements in the ITOs, they were not egregious enough to subvert the process.
After excising the erroneous information, the court concluded that the remaining corroborated evidence provided sufficient reasonable and probable grounds for the issuing justices to grant the warrants.
The application to exclude evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter was dismissed.
