H. Akin

The defendants applied for a re-hearing of their dismissed s. 8 Charter application regarding a police search of a residential property where marijuana plants were found.

They argued that the Supreme Court of Canada's recent decisions in Jones and Marakah changed the law on standing, allowing them to rely on the Crown's allegations of possession to establish a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The court dismissed the application, holding that Jones and Marakah applied to informational privacy claims and did not overrule the Edwards test for territorial privacy claims.

The court found that even if the Crown's allegations were assumed true, they only alleged possession of the plants, not possession of the property, which was insufficient to establish a reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched.

The offenders were found guilty of conspiracy to import 112 kg of cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The cocaine was hidden in wooden pallets in a sea container shipped from Guyana.

The court found both offenders were principal participants in a sophisticated importation scheme.

Buttazzoni, who had a prior drug conviction in the US and made threats of violence, was sentenced to 17 years.

Ramlall, a first-time offender who received the pallets at his home, was sentenced to 15 years.

Both received credit for pre-sentence custody and house arrest.

The applicants, charged with multiple drug trafficking offences, brought an application under s 11(b) of the Charter alleging unreasonable delay.

The total delay from arrest to the anticipated end of trial was approximately 39 months.

The court applied the Morin framework, attributing much of the delay to inherent time requirements and defence actions, calculating institutional delay at just over 16 months.

Finding minimal prejudice to the applicants' liberty and fair trial rights, the court concluded the balance favoured society's interest in a trial on the merits and dismissed the stay application.

The accused applied for a stay of drug trafficking charges under ss. 11(b) and 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging unreasonable delay in bringing the matter to trial.

The total delay from charge to anticipated trial date was approximately 27.25 months.

Applying the framework from Morin, the court analyzed each contested period and concluded that only 12 months constituted Crown or institutional delay, which fell within acceptable institutional delay guidelines.

The court also found that the prejudice claimed by the accused was limited and largely attributable to the stress of being charged rather than the delay itself.

The application for a stay of proceedings was therefore dismissed.

The applicants sought certiorari to quash their committals for trial following a preliminary inquiry on charges relating to a large cocaine importation scheme.

Police had intercepted a shipping container containing 112 kilograms of cocaine concealed in wooden pallets and conducted a controlled delivery, leading to arrests after the pallets were opened.

The applicants argued there was insufficient evidence of knowledge of the cocaine to permit committal.

Applying the limited weighing standard from R. v. Arcuri, the court held that the circumstantial evidence permitted reasonable inferences of knowledge and participation, including involvement in opening the container and dismantling pallets containing narcotics valued at approximately $4 million.

The court concluded that a properly instructed jury could reasonably infer guilt and that the preliminary inquiry judge did not err in committing the applicants to stand trial.