Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Court File No.: 21-G5903
Date: 2025/02/10
BETWEEN:
His Majesty the King
and
Hassan Ozeir (Applicant)
Jessica Corbeil for the Federal Crown
Joseph Addelman for the Applicant
Heard: October 21–25, 2024, oral decision given January 23, 2025
AMENDED REASONS FOR RULING ON SECTION 8 AND SECTION 9 OF THE CHARTER
The text of the original ruling was amended on February 10, 2025 and the description of the amendment is appended.
Anne London-Weinstein
Introduction
1Hassan Ozeir is charged with possession of Schedule I substances for the purpose of trafficking and three counts of possession of proceeds obtained by crime. The charges arise from an investigation by the Ottawa Police Drug Unit which culminated in the arrest of the Applicant on October 20, 2021.
2The Applicant argues that police lacked reasonable and probable grounds to arrest him, and when they did so and seized half a kilogram of Fentanyl and 19 oxycodone pills along with about $2,600 in cash, and a single pregabalin pill; that they breached his right not to be arbitrarily detained under s. 9 of the Charter and his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure pursuant to s. 8 of the Charter. The Fentanyl and Oxycodone pills were in a satchel not worn by the Applicant, but by Mr. Haidar, who was a passenger in the vehicle driven by the Applicant.
3The assessment of whether reasonable and probable grounds for arrest existed in this case requires an assessment of the facts in this case and all of the information known to the officers at the time of detention and arrest.
The Facts of this Case
4In the summer of 2021, Yousef Ozeir’s drug dealing near his home in a quiet Orleans suburb in the city of Ottawa attracted complaints from neighbouring residents to the Ottawa Police Service. Yousef Ozeir sported a distinctive “man bun” hairstyle which was noted by residents of the neighborhood. His white Infiniti vehicle was observed by his neighbors who provided police with the plate number, and the tipsters provided police with the Ozeir address of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue.
5Back in the summer of 2021, Det. Aristidis Tasoulis was assigned to the drug unit of the Ottawa Police Service. Det. Tasoulis had transferred to the drug unit in January of 2020. Prior to that he had worked as a patrol constable.
6In that role, he handled community complaints which often related to drug trafficking or drug complaints. He had spent well over 200 hours surveilling drug traffickers as part of the drug squad. Although he described his work experience as still growing at the time of this investigation, he had been the lead officer two or three times prior to this case. The informants in this case were not coded at the start of this case.
7On July 23, 2021, he reviewed a tip from a confidential source that a Lebanese male with a thick build and a man style ponytail was often observed leaving 1757 Silver Bark Avenue to meet with different individuals and vehicles for short periods of time near his house, or in a park located across the street from 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. The male would also meet with vehicles while driving a white Infiniti with license plate CFNB 523. This description fit Yousef Ozeir.
8Det. Tasoulis conducted background checks on the address of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and the white Infiniti with the license plate CFNB 523. He noted there was a list of persons associated to that address and the two that stuck out to him were Yousef Ozeir and his brother Hassan Ozeir.
9The background check revealed that Yousef Ozeir was suspected by police of being involved in gang activity including trafficking drugs. He had been stopped several times recently in the white Infiniti and police in-house records showed he was associated to others who police believed to be involved in gang activity and drug trafficking. One of those in-house records involved his car breaking down in November of 2020 in the ByWard Market.
10Police who dealt with him that day noted he appeared nervous in their presence. Police observed small pieces of ripped up grey plastic in the car, consistent with drug trafficking. There were also perfume bottles by the driver’s door, cash in the front centre console and a black Coach satchel in the rear seat which belonged to Yousef. An equally nervous appearing passenger named Dillon was also in the car. Yousef said he was dropping Dillon off, but they contradicted each other as to where that drop off would be. Dillon beat a hasty retreat, leaving Yousef to await the arrival of his brother to assist him.
11Yousef’s brother came to pick him up, but it was not his brother Hassan Ozeir, the Applicant in this case, but his brother Ali Ozeir who arrived.
12In cross-examination, Det. Tasoulis denied that he knew much about Ali Ozeir or whether Ali Ozeir was also associated to the 1757 Silver Bark Avenue address. He insisted that his attention was drawn only to Yousef and Hassan Ozeir. However, at least in November of 2020 police suspected that Yousef Ozeir was involved in drug trafficking and knew that his brother Ali attended to help him when his car broke down in the market in November of 2020. Det. Tasoulis never did indicate what exactly alerted him to Hassan Ozeir’s name when he reviewed the names of persons associated to the Silver Bark Avenue address. He had bolded the name of Yousef Ozeir on that list, but not Hassan Ozeir. He admitted in cross-examination that there was no information in the records he reviewed linking Hassan Ozeir to gang associations or drug trafficking.
13On August 11th, Det. Tasoulis reviewed another complaint that residents or a resident at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue was engaged in a suspected drug transaction and this transaction occurred with a Ford SUV on Silver Bark Avenue and Barnabe Park located across the street.
14The individual observed the resident of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue driving a white Infiniti meet with a Ford SUV and that same white Infiniti was also parked in the laneway of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. A query of the address and the vehicle revealed no additional information.
15Having reviewed these two tips and based on the background information learned through his research of police records relating to Yousef Ozeir, Det. Tasoulis and his team, including Det. Renwick and several other officers set up surveillance on August 23, 2021.
16Det. Tasoulis was aware that Yousef Ozeir was connected to the white Infiniti with the plate CFNB 523. The registered owner of that vehicle was Iyat Ozeir who lived at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. The residence was clearly a family residence, with various people attending at different times.
17Before each day of surveillance, the team met for a briefing by the lead officer. A briefing sheet was filled out naming the target, so that everyone on the team is aware of that target’s name. There is provision on that surveillance briefing form for multiple targets to be noted. A photograph is also provided of the target, so that police can recognize them when they are making observations. This is important so that police know who they are looking at, and I have also inferred that it would be relevant for officer safety reasons when engaged in covert surveillance.
18On five separate occasions, Det. Tasoulis named Yousef Ozeir as a target on the surveillance brief forms. On five separate occasions he provided his team members with an MTO photo of Yousef Ozeir. On zero occasions was Hassan Ozeir ever named as a target on the surveillance brief form. On zero occasions did Det. Tasoulis provide an MTO photo of Hassan Ozeir to the rest of the team so that he could be identified.
19Det. Tasoulis’ evidence was contradictory regarding whether he provided an MTO photo of Yousef Ozeir. Initially he indicated that he did not provide a photo of Yousef Ozeir. He said he provided his information so that team members could identify Yousef by referring to his MTO photo themselves on OPS internal information systems.
20However, the surveillance brief filled out by Det. Tasoulis himself, indicated that an MTO photo was provided by him to his team members. Further, the transcripts of testimony at the preliminary hearing of other team members provided to the court on this voir dire confirm that Det. Tasoulis provided them with a photo of Yousef Ozeir at every surveillance briefing. I found as a fact that no photo of Hassan Ozeir was ever provided, although Det. Tasoulis testified that he had provided a photo to the team. Members of the surveillance team testified at the preliminary hearing that they did not receive a photo of Hassan Ozeir and were not advised he was a target. Det. Tasoulis had no note of ever providing a photo of Hassan Ozeir to his team mates, or ever indicating on a surveillance brief that he was a target. Given the evidence of the officers at the preliminary hearing that they had never received such a photo, I rejected the evidence of Det. Tasoulis on this issue.
21On the first day of surveillance the team observed a male with his hair distinctively tied back who they recognized as Yousef Ozeir.
22Yousef Ozeir was observed by police to engage in exactly the kind of activity consistent with drug trafficking which the confidential sources had described. At about 6:34 p.m. he walked toward Barnabe Park. He entered the front passenger seat of a car where he remained for about a minute. That car then dropped him off at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and left. Given that Yousef Ozeir walked a short distance to meet the car, remained in it for a very brief moment, and then was driven back to his home, police concluded that this behaviour was consistent with drug trafficking. It was also consistent with what tipsters had described.
23About ten minutes later another car parked across from the 1757 Silver Bark Avenue address. A person entered the house for two minutes and left carrying a dark satchel.
24At 7:21 p.m. Yousef Ozeir walked over to Barnabe Park. He was speaking on his phone. He got into another vehicle. The vehicle moved to another area of the parking lot near the park. He exited the car three minutes later and walked back toward 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. He drove away at 8:18 p.m. in the white Infiniti. Again, the transaction was brief, fit the pattern of what informants had described and the white Infiniti mentioned by the tipsters was used by Yousef Ozeir. Police were able to corroborate the information provided by the informants with respect to Yousef Ozeir.
25Police followed him as he drove out of the neighbourhood of Silver Bark Avenue and onto Highway 417. Police tried to maintain surveillance, but Yousef Ozeir executed a swift three lane change as a type of last-minute driving maneuver and police lost track of him. Det. Tasoulis described this as a counter-surveillance tactic which he had seen in other drug investigations.
26Police resumed surveillance of Yousef Ozeir the next day on August 24th. Det. Tasoulis again filled out the surveillance briefing sheet so that members of the team would be able to identify the named target, Yousef Ozeir. Det. Tasoulis again circulated a photo of Yussef Ozeir to the team members. The white Infiniti was listed again as a vehicle of interest. Hassan Ozeir was not mentioned to team members, nor was his photo provided to team members.
27Based on the number of people in attendance at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue that day the family appeared to be having some type of get together. Police watched and photographed Yousef Ozeir as he shopped for groceries at Walmart. He was not observed to be doing anything that day that was consistent with drug trafficking.
28While police watched, a woman and two children went into 1757 Silver Bark Avenue after exiting their car which was parked across the street. The children were observed playing in the driveway. A grey GMC pickup truck with license plate ON # BK58448 pulled up at about 4:38 p.m. and parked across the street from the residence. At 4:45 p.m. a man got out of the truck and walked up the driveway to the home. Police later identified him as Hassan Ozeir.
29The members of the drug unit team had a number of other investigations going on at the time, so this investigation was paused for a time.
30By September there had been additional tips provided to police about drug trafficking which related to 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. A report indicated that a resident of that address left his house and met with a second male near the residence for a short period of time. Another report in September indicated that a Lebanese male with a manbun, who lived at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue was engaged in ongoing drug transactions in nearby Barnabe Park.
31Det. Tasoulis conducted a records check but discovered nothing new.
32By mid-October he conducted another surveillance briefing related to this investigation. He filled out the surveillance briefing form naming Yousef Ozeir as the target. He provided a photo of Yousef Ozeir to his fellow team members. Hassan Ozeir was not named as a target, nor was his photo provided. On October 13th, the team set about conducting surveillance.
33At around noon the team noted that the white Infiniti was parked in the driveway.
34A silver Honda pulled up and a male who was wearing a black hoodie, Adidas pants and who was described as heavyset exited 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. The male in the black hoodie entered the front passenger seat of the Honda and it drove away to a parking lot in a housing complex just west of nearby Barnabe Park. Police observed both the driver and the passenger in the front seat look down at the centre console. The man in the black hoodie then got out of the car and walked back to 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. Officer Binet observed and noted that the male in the black hoodie had a beard.
35The man was not identified on October 13th. However, in this voir dire Det. Tasoulis testified that he did his own research that evening and concluded that the man was, in fact, Hassan Ozeir. He has no note of this research, or which photo he viewed to make this identification. It was on October 13th after reportedly doing this research, that Det. Tasoulis said he regarded Hassan Ozeir as a target along with his brother Yousef based on his “identification” of Hassan Ozeir on October 13.
36However, I did not accept that Det. Tasoulis identified Hassan Ozeir on October 13th and that he was a target, along with his brother, at this point. My reasons for rejecting the officer’s evidence on this issue relate to his failure to make a note of this fact anywhere in his notes, and the fact that other team members testified at the preliminary hearing that they were not ever advised that Hassan Ozeir was a target, nor were they provided a photo of him, although Det. Tasoulis testified to the contrary. Officers noted being advised that Yousef Ozeir was the only target, his photo was received, and the white Infiniti was the only vehicle noted of interest on the surveillance briefing.
37Det. Renwick, who testified that Hassan Ozeir was discussed as a target during the investigation and testified he had looked at a photo of Hassan Ozeir, also had no note to either of those events.
38Police have a duty to make careful notes relating to an investigation. It is an integral part of their responsibilities. See: Woods v. Schaeffer, 2013 SCC 71. Inadequate note taking has been described as doing a disservice both to the accused and to the community. (Report of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Charge Screening, Disclosure, and Resolution Discussions (1993) (“Martin Committee”), at pp. 151 and 153)
39More generally, police manuals have long emphasized the importance of accurate, detailed, and comprehensive notes; see, e.g., R. E. Salhany, The Police Manual of Arrest, Seizure & Interrogation (7th ed. 1997), at pp. 270-78 as cited in Woods v. Schaeffer, supra.
40The Supreme Court has indicated that police officers have a duty to prepare accurate, detailed and comprehensive notes as soon as practicable after an investigation. The duty to prepare notes is, at a minimum, implicit in an officer’s duty to assist in the laying of charges and in prosecution of charges.
41Given his experience as a police officer, and after reviewing the other significant observations which he did take the time to note, I reject the notion that Det. Tasoulis was unaware of his duty to record significant events, such as the elevation of an individual to a target in this case, or the provision of a photo of a target. Det. Tasoulis described this failure as occurring through inadvertence, a mistake which would never be repeated. He also inexplicably said that he did it to maintain consistency on the surveillance briefing form. However, it defies common sense that on October 14th, the day after he claimed to have conducted his own research, that he would not note Hassan Ozeir as a target especially when he filled out that form on October 14, yet again naming Yousef Ozeir as the target. Further, given that he made a note on five occasions of distributing a photo of Yousef Ozeir at the surveillance briefing meeting before every observation, I reject his evidence that he provided a photo of Hassan Ozeir to his team but simply failed to note it. I am fortified in this conclusion by the fact that the other members of his team deny receiving a photo of Hassan Ozeir from Det. Tasoulis. Therefore, I have concluded that Det. Tasoulis was not honest with the court when he said he provided his team members with a photo of Hassan Ozeir, or when he indicated why Hassan Ozeir was a target by October 13th/14th but was never noted as one. Given these findings of fact, I am not prepared to accept that Det. Tasoulis believed that the person who was not identified on October 13th was Hassan Ozeir.
42I appreciate that Hassan Ozeir was observed and noted by name in the surveillance reports, not the briefing reports, on October 14th. His identification is properly noted on the report at the time that I believe it occurred. However, given my findings with respect to Det. Tasoulis evidence, I am not satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Det. Tasoulis later identified Hassan Ozeir as the man getting into the vehicle and walking back to his house on October 13th. I do note that defence counsel suggested that Hassan Ozeir did not have a beard on October 13th. I reviewed all the surveillance video in this case. Hassan Ozeir did have a beard on October 14, 2021, and on October 19, 2021. Yousef Ozeir also had a beard. No photos were taken on October 13th of this observation by police. This was simply an error on the part of defence counsel.
43Given my concerns with the lack of notes, and also with credibility issues arising from Det. Tasoulis evidence regarding why Hassan Ozeir was not named as a target on the briefing sheet, and whether a photo of him was provided or not, I could not be satisfied on a balance of probabilities that Det. Tasoulis believed that the individual observed on October 13th was, in fact, Hassan Ozeir and not Yousef Ozeir, or even another member of the Ozeir family, such as Ali Ozeir. I note that on October 19th, the day police followed the GMC truck to Toronto, that they had initially mistaken Hassan Ozeir for Yousef Ozeir.
44No other activity consistent with drug trafficking was observed on October 13. Police then resumed surveillance on October 14th.
45On October 14th, Det. Tasoulis began the surveillance briefing by again filling out a surveillance report. Yousef Ozeir was named as the target. Hassan Ozeir was not noted. The white Infiniti was again noted as the vehicle linked to this investigation. Yousef Ozeir’s photograph was again distributed to team members. Hassan Ozeir’s photo was never distributed, contrary to the evidence of Det. Tasoulis.
46Given the purpose of the investigation, and also from an officer safety perspective, I reject the notion that Hassan Ozeir was a target in this case in August, or September or October 13th or October 14th and Det. Tasoulis simply forgot to mention him to his team. Team member Officer Lehman, testified at the preliminary hearing that to his knowledge the only target identified on October 14th and October 19th was Yousef Ozeir. Officer Bujold testified that he could not recall making observations of anyone other than Yousef Ozeir on October 13th without looking at the surveillance sheet. He testified he only observed a photo of Yousef Ozeir. Sgt. Neil White, who has been a police officer since 2004 and worked in the guns and gangs unit at the time of the preliminary hearing testified that Yousef Ozeir was the only target identified at every surveillance briefing, and that only his photo was distributed. I prefer his evidence to that of Det. Renwick, who advised this court that police were aware of Hassan Ozeir and suspected him of drug trafficking by October 14th based on their observations of him despite the failure of any police officer to make a note of the fact he had been elevated to a target. Det. Renwick explained to this court that a photo of Hassan Ozeir would not need to be provided since they had him on video.
47I note that police continued to provide a photo of Yousef Ozeir at the beginning of every briefing, despite the fact he was captured on video surveillance by the observation officers. A photo of the target is obviously a superior method of helping police identify a suspect given the quality of the video images versus an MTO photo. The court could not help but wonder whether police would have been better able to more quickly identify Hassan Ozeir on October 19th if they had been given a photo of him, which I find as a fact that they had not.
48At 12:40 p.m. on October 14, a white male, wearing a grey hoodie and pants was observed next to the grey GMC pick-up truck with the license plate BK58448. The male was believed to be Hassan Ozeir, the brother of the target identified in the surveillance brief, Yousef Ozeir.
49A male in a grey Nissan, pulled up and parked near the house at 3:34 p.m. Police did not note the registered owner of the car. A male in a black Kia also pulled up. The registered owner of that car was not noted. The male who had been in the grey Nissan walked to Barnabe Park. He was on his cellphone. Three minutes later Hassan Ozeir also walked to the park. He was carrying a small dog in his arms. He and the male who had been in the Nissan walked in the park as they talked. They also appeared to be smoking as they walked through the park. The male who had been in the grey Nissan then left in his car at around 4 p.m. Hassan Ozeir walked back to his house, carrying his dog in his arms. Det. Tasoulis noted at 4 p.m. that the male with the dog was identified as Hassan Ozeir. At 4:10 p.m. Hassan Ozeir was inside 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. At 4:12 p.m. a woman entered the house. At 4:40 p.m. a man in a yellow shirt entered 1757 Silver Bark Avenue, stayed for three minutes and left as a passenger in a Hyundai.
50At 4:50 p.m. a male who was identified as Hassan Ozeir walked into Barnabe Park talking on his phone. He went into the nearby Winter Rose Parking complex and sat down. He was carrying a small dog and was identified as Hassan Ozeir.
51Hassan Ozeir at about 4:45 p.m. was observed wearing a multi-colored tank top and still carrying a small dog in his arms, walking toward Barnabe Park. He appeared to be on the phone at one point and at another point had his right hand in his right-hand pocket while still carrying the dog.
52He walked toward the nearby housing complex where police the day before observed the bearded man in a black hoodie sit with another man in a car and look down at a console and then walk back to 1757 Silver Bark Avenue.
53Hassan Ozeir sat down on the steps of the housing complex adjoining that parking lot. He was still carrying a small dog in his arms. A group of males joined him. Of the males who originally joined him, one left within five minutes in a car. Two more males arrived walking in the park. Another male left. They were clearly smoking something, possibly cannabis. Hassan Ozeir spoke to someone who was leaving in a Volkswagen. At 4:55 p.m. he then walked back toward his house along with a male he was conversing with. Hassan Ozeir was still carrying his little dog as he walked back to the residence at 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. From 4:50 p.m. until 5:10 p.m. Hassan Ozeir could be observed outside walking and talking with people who he appeared to know. Surveillance was terminated at 5:25 p.m. No transactions were observed.
54Police did not resume surveillance for another five days. As always, Det. Tasoulis began the surveillance briefing by indicating on the surveillance briefing form that Yousef Ozeir was the target, the 1757 Silver Bark Avenue address was the relevant address, and the white Infiniti was the associated vehicle to the investigation. Hassan Ozeir was not referenced, and no photo was provided of him.
55Det. Tasoulis said he planned to seek authorization for a search warrant for 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. In his evidence before this court he said that Hassan Ozeir was by this time now a target of the investigation and he wished to continue observation to see to what extent both subjects, that being Yousef and Hassan Ozeir were involved in these types of transactions. Police also wanted to have a clearer idea of who resided in the home.
56Both the white Infiniti and the grey GMC pick-up truck were parked in the laneway at about 1:05 p.m.
57A Kia pulled up and a man got out of it. He was on his phone. He went back into the driver’s seat of the Kia. A male who fit the description of Yousef Ozeir, who had a beard, hair tied up, wearing a grey sleeved shirt and jeans came out of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and walked up to the front passenger seat of the Kia.
58Within a minute Yousef Ozeir walked away from the grey Kia and up the laneway of Silver Bark. The interaction was very brief.
59At 2:06 p.m. an unknown male exited 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and drove the grey pick-up truck away. At 2:11 p.m. a Santa Fe arrived in the laneway of 1757 Silver Bark Avenue. Before 2:50 p.m. the grey pick-up truck drove back to 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and parked on the street in front of the residence. The front passenger of the pickup truck exited the truck. He wore a dark shirt and had a satchel across his chest. At this point, police believed that Yousef Ozeir was driving the truck. However, much later police would realize that the person they were observing was not Yussef Ozeir, but Hassan Ozeir.
60This misidentification would have significant consequences to this investigation. I note that this misidentification occurred after Det. Tasoulis said that he had conducted his own research and confirmed that Hassan Ozeir was the bearded man in the black hoodie observed on October 13th entering a car and staring down at the console with another man nearby 1757 Silver Bark Avenue and then walking back to that address.
61Persons who would later be identified as Mr. Dia and Mr. Haidar were observed in the truck. Police believed they were watching Yousef Ozeir drive the truck out of the neighborhood.
62Det. Tasoulis said that the team decided to follow the vehicle thinking it was Yousef Ozeir that they were following. Det. Tasoulis thought that the locations that Yousef Ozeir may go to with the other two occupants might lead to further evidence, he said.
63The grey pick up truck stopped in front of a residential address on Candlewood Street in the east end of Ottawa. Police believed they were watching Youssef Ozeir exit the truck and run up toward the front door of 1049 Candlewood Street. Within a minute, the person who police believed to be Yousef Ozeir, who was in fact Hassan Ozeir, returned to the truck and drove away. No other person was observed. No transaction was observed.
64Police then followed the truck to 706 Smyth Road where it parked in the driveway. Mr. Dia, who was in the front passenger seat, exited the vehicle from the front passenger seat. Mr. Haidar exited from the rear of the truck. They could be observed hanging around the truck in the driveway smoking. Police observed a man who they believed to be Yousef Ozeir run to the back of 706 Smyth Road. In about three minutes he returned. At this point, Det. Tasoulis said he realized that the driver of the truck was not Youssef Ozeir, but rather his brother, Hassan Ozeir. He notified other members of his team of this turn of events.
65Hassan Ozeir was observed on his phone. He returned to the back of 706 Smyth Road. He was back in the truck within five minutes and the truck drove away with Mr. Dia and Mr. Haidar on board.
66No other individual was observed at the 706 Smyth Road address. No transaction was observed.
67The grey pick-up truck then travelled to a One for One Pizza outlet where the trio exited the truck and ordered food and then returned to the truck.
68The truck then proceeded to the west end of Ottawa where it stopped in front of an address on Rockson Crescent. Det. Renwick said that Hassan Ozeir was driving and got out of the truck and got back into it. However, from the notes of Det. Tasoulis, Hassan Ozeir may have simply switched seats with Mr. Dia. Not much turns on this point. No one approached the Rockson Crescent residence. No other person was seen, and no transaction was observed.
69The truck next stopped at a gas station on Carp Road to get gas. The truck then got onto Highway 417 and headed south on Highway 416. Police had not seen anything that could actually be described as a drug transaction but were suspicious of the three stops they observed.
70The truck stopped at a few ONroute gas stations as it travelled west on Highway 401 toward Toronto. In Newcastle, Mr. Dia and Mr. Ozeir switched seats so that Mr. Ozeir was driving.
71Det. Tasoulis said he believed that the trio might be driving out of town to engage in drug transactions, or that they might be looking to replenish their drug supply.
72The truck stopped at a cinema parking lot at 300 Borough Drive in Scarborough. Det. Tasoulis said that the parking lot was not crowded. However, the video surveillance observed in court suggested that there were a number of other cars parked at that time.
73At 9:38 p.m. the truck was parked on the east side of the Cineplex entrance. Mr. Dia got out of the driver’s seat and walked away from the truck. A minute later a white four door sedan drove into the same parking lot of the Cineplex. Mr. Haidar exited the rear passenger seat of the truck and got into the rear passenger seat of the white sedan. He got into the vehicle for a minute and within that minute got back out of the vehicle and started walking back toward the truck. Hassan Ozeir remained in the truck area. Det. Tasoulis believed this was either another drug transaction or a resupply of drugs.
74Hassan Ozeir drove the grey pick-up truck to a Petro Gas station at 900 Progress Avenue. He got into the back seat and then back into the front seat. They stopped at a McDonald’s restaurant on Progress Avenue and the occupants got out and had a cigarette. They were there for about 24 minutes. They went to another parking lot nearby and went into a Naan Kabob restaurant.
75Another group of individuals met up with them and the group socialized for about an hour.
76The truck then headed back toward Ottawa. Hassan Ozeir was driving. They stopped twice at ONroutes on the way back to Ottawa for smoke breaks and to stretch their legs, arriving in Ottawa at about 4:30 a.m.
77Det. Tasoulis provided the team with their reasonable and probable grounds to arrest for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking in conjunction with Det. Renwick who was the more experienced officer. Det. Tasoulis had only been with the drug unit for a year and a half. The trio were arrested when they were back in the City of Ottawa at the Carling and Woodroffe Road area. Police seized over 500 grams of Fentanyl, 19 Oxycodone, a single Pregabalin pill and $2,600 in cash.
[The remainder of the decision, including the legal analysis, findings, and conclusion, continues as in the original text, with all formatting, links, and structure preserved as above.]
Appendix
February 10, 2025: Paragraph 3 now reads reasonable and probable grounds…
February 10, 2025: Paragraph 136 now reads trial judge held…
February 10, 2025: Paragraph 137 now reads only Yousef Ozeir’s MTO photo…
Released: February 10, 2025