NANAIMO — A BC Supreme Court Justice found a man guilty of shipping notable volumes of hard drugs to local dealers for resale following an undercover police investigation.
Chad Michael Kirk, 37, was convicted on three counts of trafficking fentanyl, cocaine and crystal meth originating from an April 13, 2018 traffic stop seconds after a drug transaction in Nanaimo’s Uplands neighbourhood.
The Honourable Justice Robin Baird said Nanaimo RCMP received confidential source information Kirk was using the street alias ‘Dayton’ to sell drugs locally on behalf of a Vancouver based wholesale distributor and gang member.
“The accused was at the very least an active participant in a brisk, ongoing and significant drug trade in fentanyl, crack cocaine, powdered cocaine, methamphetamine — generating thousands upon thousands of dollars of revenue every day.”
Baird’s 45-minute decision in court on Thursday, June 23 in Nanaimo came on the heels of a recently completed trial in which the Crown leaned on multiple RCMP witnesses.
Police determined after several weeks of surveillance Kirk’s behaviour was consistent with drug trafficking. He was arrested, along with two other men, after Kirk parked his car on Glencraig Dr. off Uplands Dr.
A backpack found in the car, which Justice Baird determined belonged to Kirk, featured nearly 22 grams of fentanyl, 23 grams of methamphetamine, 12 grams of crack cocaine and trace amounts of powdered cocaine.
The drugs were estimated by a Nanaimo RCMP narcotics expert to have a street value of more than $3000 at the time.
Inside the car, registered to Kirk, was a small amount of cocaine in the centre console, numerous constantly ringing cell phones and a large knife. An unloaded and locked 12 gauge shotgun found in the trunk was spotted, along with 100 shotgun shells.
One of the arrested passengers was found with nearly 20 grams of cocaine, which Justice Baird determined was purchased from Kirk seconds before police swarmed the car.
A search warrant was obtained and later the same night, Nanaimo RCMP raided the upstairs suite of a Linyard Rd. home in the Linley Valley neighbourhood where Kirk lived.
Central to the search of the home was a pouch hidden in the laundry room behind the dryer containing 182 grams of fentanyl.
Directly beside the concealed fentanyl was nearly $30,000 of cash in half a dozen bundles, with the alias ‘Dayton’ scribbled on one of the packages.
In a recorded statement at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment a day after the bust, Kirk admitted he was dealing drugs in partnership with a Vancouver based drug trafficker.
During the statement, Kirk took ownership for nearly the entirety of the bust related to the car and home, including the money stuffed behind the dryer.
However, Kirk adamantly denied any knowledge of the large volume of fentanyl placed beside the hidden money.
Kirk didn’t testify in his defence, while at trial his lawyer Dale Melville raised doubts whether Kirk knew about the stashed fentanyl.
Justice Baird said based on the information available to him he can’t conclusively say Kirk is responsible for the fentanyl found in the laundry room.
Lengthy gaps in the police surveillance operation which could have tied the fentanyl to other people visiting the home prior to the RCMP raid was highlighted by Justice Baird.
“I am prepared to accept, although perhaps not terribly enthusiastically, that in all of the circumstances he may not have known it was there even though he seemed to be aware of the pouch with the money stashed right beside it.”
Justice Baird said even if Kirk reasonably claimed to have no knowledge of the concealed fentanyl, he must have been expecting an imminent delivery of the substance and other drugs as part of his high volume trafficking activities.
Inside the rest of the house police found more than $1,700 cash, a variety of weapons, including a .22 calibre rifle, a money counter and more than one kilogram of marijuana stored in a safe.
Large amounts of drug paraphernalia ranging form digital scales notebooks, score sheets and various documents with Kirk’s name attached were present.
A charge against Kirk of possessing stolen property was dismissed, while he was found not guilty of a weapons offence for the unsafe storage of the unloaded rifle.
Justice Baird said there is an outside chance police investigators unintentionally moved the weapon during their search.
While concluding his decision, Justice Baird re-emphasized Kirk clearly served as the point man for a high volume trafficking operation sending drugs down the line in Nanaimo to street level dealers.
“I find that in effect he was the shipper-receiver of a De Facto drug depot.”
Kirk will be sentenced at a later date.
Crown prosecutor Chris Gibson said he couldn’t comment on what potential jail sentence he will seek.
The Crown did not request Kirk be remanded in custody as he’s not determined to be a flight risk with no breaches while out on bail for more than four years.
Justice Baird ordered a pre-sentence report to provide context on Kirk’s background as part of the sentencing process.
A psychiatric and psychological assessment will also be conducted for the courts consideration.
Kirk’s lawyer told court he has turned his life around, is gainfully employed and has taken action against his substance abuse.
Kirk had no comment when approached by NanaimoNewsNOW after the verdict.
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