Following interception of a parcel from India containing heroin hidden in pneumatic valve joints, police conducted a controlled delivery to a former rooming house address connected to the accused.
The trial judge rejected the accused’s denial of knowledge and found his police statement and supporting defence evidence to be fabricated.
Applying circumstantial-evidence principles, the court relied on the value of the heroin, the accused’s surveillance-like driving, his acceptance of delivery for a former tenant, the removal of the shipping wrapper, and cellphone evidence linking him to the tracking number and communications from India.
The court held that the accused knowingly possessed heroin for the purpose of trafficking, aided the importation, and was a party to a conspiracy to import heroin.
