A man found with more than five ounces of crystal meth and almost $6,000 in cash was acquitted of drug charges after the judge found his rights had been violated when he was searched.
Shaotao Qu appeared in provincial court on Friday, August 9 for trial. He was charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Leading into his trial there was a voir dire hearing to discuss a Charter of Rights notice in regards to Qu’s traffic stop, arrest and subsequent charging last fall.
On September 23 of last year, RCMP officers were wrapping up a check stop on the north side of Gordon Taylor Bridge, when a vehicle driven by Qu passed RCMP officers heading south. Constable Jones and Constable Doucette noted the car was travelling at a speed faster than the speed limit and faster than they felt it should be when passing emergency vehicles on the roadway. They followed Qu and pulled him over near the Valley Plaza with the aim to give him a warning.
Jones testified there were a number of reasons he became convinced Qu was carrying drugs. He noted that the vehicle he was driving in was not registered to Qu, there was an air freshener in the vehicle, he had fast food wrappers on the front seat an Qu appeared nervous.
The officers also did not find credibility in Qu’s story that he was on a day trip to Saskatoon and back to look at realty. Doucette asked what was in a backpack in the back seat and Qu told him a toiletries. Doucette asked if he could search Qu’s bag, Qu refused.
Jones asked Qu to exit his car and arrested him. Upon searching the car, he discovered 167 grams of crystal meth and $5,400 in cash. There was more cash on his person.
Judge Grieve found that Qu’s right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure had been violated and further found that evidence seized from the vehicle that Qu was driving could not be admitted to trial.
The court then went directly to trial and federal prosecutor Colin Kloot called no further evidence. Qu was acquitted on both counts, and the drugs and cash were forfeited to the crown.
