The prosecutor is suggesting a six-year prison sentence for an Edmonton man being sentenced for cocaine trafficking in Yellowknife for the second time in just over five years.
The central issue at Monday’s sentencing hearing in Northwest Territories Supreme Court was whether Liban Mohammed was a wholesale or a retail cocaine trafficker.
The 29-year-old was found guilty of possessing 294.5 grams of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing proceeds of crime after a trial that concluded in February. Police found the drugs, along with $52,325 in cash and four firearms, when they executed a search warrant at a Yellowknife apartment three years ago.
“Packaging retrieved from the bedroom was consistent with the way a one-kilogram brick of cocaine would be packaged,” said prosecutor Brendan Green in calling for a six-year sentence.
Green said normally the distinction between wholesale and retail selling is quite clear: a wholesaler sells to retailers and retailers sell to consumers. “But the word ‘wholesale’ used in case law typically applies to weight,” said Green. He said in the past, judges have found that someone caught with grams of cocaine are retailers. Those caught with hundreds of grams are treated as wholesalers.
Mohammed’s lawyer disagreed.
“If I buy six ounces of cocaine and bag it and put it on the street am I a wholesaler or a street-level trafficker?” asked Jake Chadi. “Clearly a retailer.”
“It’s not based on quantity, it’s based on fact,” said Chadi. He noted one of the police officers who testified during the trial talked about evidence of drugs being packaged for sale in the apartment. He recommended a sentence of three-and-a-half to four years.
Green said the scale of the drug dealing operation was evident in how much money they found in the apartment.
Warned by judge last time
One of the biggest factors weighing against Mohammed at the sentencing was his recent past conviction for cocaine trafficking in Yellowknife.
In 2015 he was sentenced to 32 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
On that occasion, Justice Louise Charbonneau cautioned Mohammed that the 32 months “is a lot less than what you would have received after trial and it is less than what a court could do on these facts,” according to a transcript of her decision.
Accused people are generally afforded much lighter sentences when they plead guilty. Even Chadi agreed there were no mitigating factors this time for Mohammed.
“It appears that has not deterred him,” said Green on Monday. “In fact, his trafficking has escalated.”
In handing down her sentence five years ago, Charbonneau talked about the harmful effects of cocaine trafficking on the community and urged Mohammed to consider them any time he was tempted to get involved in drug trafficking again.
“Think about people you care about and imagine them being robbed by someone who is looking for money to buy cocaine,” Charbonneau said. “Imagine their house being broken into … and imagine houses with empty fridges and hungry kids because their parents are so addicted.”
At the end of Monday’s hearing, Justice Shannon Smallwood reserved her decision. She said she will give it on Friday.
