FILE PHOTO.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A Vernon man,whose fingerprints were found on a bag containing $200,000 of meth and cocaine – which was hidden in a secret compartment in his Jeep – has walked out of court a free man after a judge ruled the search was unlawful and that police had "deliberately flouted due process."

According to a Feb. 4 BC Supreme Court decision, Justice Palbinder Shergill ruled that Vernon RCMP officers did not have reasonable grounds to arrest or charge Nabil Mahmoud Abdelkader who they described as "a bad dude" and "untouchable."

"The police committed numerous and flagrant breaches of the accused’s Charter Rights and also committed an abuse of process in their conduct of the investigation," the Justice ruled.

Justice Shergill's move means that Abdelkader was acquitted of two charges of possession of methamphetamine and cocaine for the purposes of trafficking.

The story dates back to March 2020 when a white Jeep SUV owned by Abdelkader was involved in a violent hit-and-run where a cyclist was run down. Two men then jumped out of the back of the car and assaulted the cyclist.

The cyclist couldn't identify any of the men, and the RCMP released a video at the time, hoping for witnesses. Using surveillance footage police tracked the incident to a vehicle owned by Abdelkader. 

The RCMP knew Abdelkader and suspected him of drug trafficking.

"The officers targeted Mr. Abdelkader because they believed he was involved in the drug trade and had been 'untouchable' thus far," Justice Shergill said in the decision. "They were determined to find evidence to charge him. If they could not charge him, they were determined to deprive him of his valuable Jeep."

In May 2020, Vernon RCMP got a warrant and seized the vehicle, looking for evidence of the hit-and-run.

However, police found nothing that would lead to charges over the hit and run.

But they were suspicious that Abdelkader was trafficking drugs and that there was a hidden compartment in the vehicle.

Police contacted the Civil Forfeiture Office, which has the power to confiscate assets even if a person hasn't been charged or convicted.

The 94-page court document goes through a lengthy play-by-play of the actions of Vernon RCMP officers as they communicated with the Civil Forfeiture Office in an effort to keep Abdelkader's vehicle which they suspected contained a hidden compartment.

However, the Justice found the police breached Abdelkader's Charter Rights during the seizure of his vehicle.

"I find that the police technique in this case was intrusive. With the assistance of the Civil Forfeiture Office, the police held onto the vehicle for many months after concluding their hit-and-run investigation until they could figure out a way to conduct a detailed examination to locate a hidden compartment in which they suspected (Abdelkader) had hidden contraband," the Justice said.

With the warrants for the hit-and-run investigation now expired, police knew they didn't have enough evidence to obtain a warrant to search the vehicle for a secret compartment.

However, as the vehicle was being repossessed, they tried a different tactic.

"The RCMP did not even bother seeking judicial authorization for the... search because they knew their efforts would be rejected. Instead, the police sought to sidestep the need for a warrant by obtaining the consent of the Bailiff," the Justice said.

The Bailiff said yes, and the Vernon RCMP took the vehicle to the Lower Mainland to be inspected by an officer who was an expert in finding secret compartments in vehicles.

It still took the officer three hours but after noticing the aftermarket carpet in the vehicle, they finally discovered a secret compartment.

Opening it up, they found it contained 4 kg of methamphetamine and more than 100 grams of cocaine, with an uncut value of $200,000.

After arresting and charging Abdelkader with drug trafficking, his lawyer argued his client Charter's Rights had been breached and the evidence collected – the bag of drugs – shouldn't be used in a trial.

And the Justice agreed finding the Vernon RCMP had breached Abdelkader's Charter Rights on six occasions.

"The police officers knew that they did not have grounds to obtain a search warrant or the legal basis to conduct a warrantless search," the Justice said.

The decision goes into the minutia of the Charter violations, even finding that turning the ignition on to check the mileage was a breach of Charter rights without the correct warrant. 

And more serious errors were also made.

"The police committed an abuse of process and thereby breached Mr. Abdelkader’s Charter rights. Under the guise of investigating a hit and run, they launched a drug investigation into Mr. Abdelkader. The police targeted Mr. Abdelkader because they believed he was involved in the drug trade, and had been 'untouchable' thus far. The police acted in concert with the Civil Forfeiture Office in a deliberate and orchestrated effort to bypass statutory safeguards... and deprive Mr. Abdelkader of due process," the Justice ruled.

The Justice said the police's determination to find evidence against Abdelkader "blinded" them into not taking the correct legal steps.

The Crown argued that while mistakes had been made, the Charter breaches weren't at the serious end of the scale.

Prosecutors argued the drug and the fingerprint evidence shouldn't be excluded as it was crucial to its case.

"The drugs were found in a Jeep owned by Mr. Abdelkader, and his fingerprints were found on the drugs," the Justice said.

However, the Justice said that while society had a strong interest in prosecuting serious offenders the more pressing need is to have a justice system that is beyond reproach.

"Admitting evidence in the proceedings that was obtained as a result of... Charter violations would bring the administration of justice into disrepute," Justice Shergill.

With that, Abdelkader was acquitted.

The decision said Abdelkader did lose his Jeep, which was sold for $90,700, with $3,200 going to the BC Civil Forfeiture Office after the vehicle loan had been paid off.

The Crown told iNFOnews.ca it was reviewing the court decision and had 30 days to determine whether an appeal was in the public interest.

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