9. Regina v. M.Z.E. [Provincial Court – June 2015]

MZE was the target of a police undercover investigation entitled Operation Cent. During the course of that operation MZE was alleged to have sold a quantity of cocaine to an undercover officer. MZE was charged with trafficking in cocaine and the Crown was seeking a period of imprisonment of 2 years if resolved by way of an early guilty plea or 3 years imprisonment if a conviction was entered at the conclusion of trial proceedings. To complicate matters, from a Defence perspective, the hand to hand cocaine transaction was witnessed by a second undercover officer and both undercover officers noted that the trafficker had a highly distinctive physical characteristic – a deep lengthy scar above his right eyebrow.

Bottom Line: At the preliminary inquiry of MZE the case for the prosecution fell apart. Specifically, although both undercover officers testified at the preliminary inquiry their evidence with respect to the critical issue of the “identification” was problematic in the extreme. At the conclusion for the case of the prosecution Patrick Fagan immediately moved for a discharge on all charges. The Crown, recognizing the futility of its position vis a vis identification, withdrew all charges before the presiding Provincial Court judge could render a decision.