The top federal RCMP official in British Columbia says Canada’s justice system is not keeping pace with increasingly sophisticated transnational criminal networks that import and export drugs and precursor chemicals across the province.

“It is time for our justice system to wake up to the reality of the danger these drugs pose,” said Assistant Commissioner David Teboul, RCMP Federal Policing program commander in the Pacific region, on October 31.

Teboul was answering questions during a news conference at BC RCMP headquarters in Surrey after making a record seizure of drugs and weapons in what Mounties described as “the most sophisticated pharmaceutical superlaboratory in Canada» never discovered.

In total, police estimate the seized drugs are worth $485 million, not to mention precursor chemicals used in the production of MDMA and fentanyl, as well as caches of weapons and bomb-making materials discovered in several locations across the country. British Columbia.

Teboul said the drugs were about to be exported and that the Falklands superlaboratory was linked to transnational organized crime networks, including alleged links to Mexican cartels.

Canadian disclosure laws a ‘burden’ on international crime investigations, critics charge

But journalists asked Teboul why only one person had been arrested and charged at this point; Gaganpreet Randhawa, of Surrey, was charged with six counts of weapons and drug offences.

Teboul would only respond that the investigation is ongoing.

Could this be another case of Are Canadian police handcuffed by disclosure laws, as they claim?

The glaring lack of prosecution of British Columbia-based individuals associated with transnational organized crime networks involved in local and international drug markets has been repeatedly raised as an issue within the Commission of Inquiry into money laundering.

For example, the former Calvin Chrustie, Superintendent of the Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit (FSOC) attributed part of the problem to disclosure laws, in his testimony before the commission on March 29, 2021.

Chrustie referenced Canada’s unprecedented 1991 case against William B. Stinchcombe, which evolved to mean that law enforcement must produce rigorous disclosure of anything that may be relevant to a criminal prosecution.

Chrustie said this high disclosure threshold, unique among Five Eyes partners (United States, New Zealand, Australia and United Kingdom), hinders transnational investigations on Canadian soil.

“Stinchcombe prevents us from working with our international partners due to disclosure issues and legal systems that are inconsistent with those of our allies and partners,” Chrustie told Glacier Media this week.

“Canadian courts do not give our global partners a high degree of confidence that their witnesses, cooperating witnesses, intelligence, investigative techniques and other ongoing operations will be protected — including the safety of those involved, such as foreign police,” Chrustie said.

Glacier Media referred this question to Teboul, who echoed Chrustie’s concerns.

“If I want to be honest with you, I will tell you that the disclosure jurisprudence in Canada is very heavy and, of course, we accept it as law enforcement, all of us, because it is linked to fundamental principles. principles of justice that we all adhere to,” Teboul said.

But, Teboul said, “the burden of disclosure is extremely heavy for our investigators. So what you see before you is the result of good investigative work, but it also requires weeks, if not months, of continued work by our investigators to meet the standards of the Stinchcombe case of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Commissioner Austin Cullen acknowledged obstacles in 2022 final reportbut ultimately sided with the case law as it stands, pointing out that before Stinchcombe, “there were no uniform rules governing pretrial disclosure and there were cases where prosecutors used the element of surprise to their advantage or did not disclose exculpatory evidence to the court.” accused. Such practices have repeatedly been identified as a leading cause of wrongful convictions.

Cullen said police needed the “necessary infrastructure” to investigate and release the information.

However, this still would not change concerns about disclosure of aspects of investigations by international partners, leading former RCMP Deputy Commissioner Peter German to suggest in his 2018 book: “Dirty money” report to the British Columbia government, that a solution “would appear to be the development of carefully balanced requirements in the Criminal Code, much like the disclosure requirements that all lawyers are familiar with in the civil court rules.

German also testified before the commission on April 12, 2021.

German’s views, however, were disputed by criminal defense attorney Marie Heinen: “The comments that Stinchcombe or Jordan would have an impact on deterring the investigation of any crime, much less this type of crime, are not not just an area in which The witness has no expertise in this area, it’s simply wrong,” she told Cullen as an intervener’s lawyer at the inquest.

Chrustie suggests that “public concerns about fentanyl should be directed to the courts and politicians, as neither have supported the police in their modernization of the justice system.”

“They talk but they don’t do it and that leads to thousands of deaths – children, mentally vulnerable people – and we just watch as a nation,” Chrustie said.

B.C.’s unpatrolled ports are major concern for Teboul as police investigate international networks

Another concern of Teboul is a lack of designated police officers at British Columbia ports.

Teboul describes this as a national security breach.

“Yes, I am concerned about enforcement at our ports. I have said before that we cannot talk about and take seriously our national security and our fight against sophisticated and organized transnational crime if we do not talk about the integrity of our border,” Teboul said.

“So I am concerned about the integrity of the borders. I mentioned it before, and ports, especially for me, are an element of responsibility that belongs to all three levels of government,” Teboul said.

“I would like to see a lot more investment from these levels of government to help us and partner agencies in policing the ports to prevent these things from coming in or out ” said Teboul.

Glacier Media highlighted the fact that Delta police were not allowed access to Deltaport at their discretion and that officers reported being hindered by port authorities.

In response, Teboul said he was in discussions with Transport Canada “to step up enforcement,” adding: “Of course, these discussions are ongoing, but ports are a major concern for me and for the partners of the CBSA (Canadian Border Services). Agency).”

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