The appellant appealed a narcotics importation conviction entered after a guilty plea following an unsuccessful voir dire seeking exclusion of cocaine found during a border strip search.
The court upheld the trial judge’s finding that customs officers had reasonable grounds to suspect contraband under s. 98 of the Customs Act, although the threshold was met only minimally.
While breaches of ss. 10(b) and 8 of the Charter were found because the search proceeded before the appellant had a reasonable opportunity to consult counsel, the evidence was properly treated as non-conscriptive and, in any event, discoverable.
Applying the s. 24(2) analysis, the court deferred to the trial judge’s conclusion that exclusion would do greater harm to the repute of the administration of justice than admission.
