Multi-year sentences for couple convicted of drug smuggling

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on April 14, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 30-year-old pregnant woman has been sent to a federal penitentiary for smuggling drugs into Alberta four years ago.
Kirandeep Toor, who is expecting her second child, was sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench to nine years in prison for her role in bringing 84 kilograms of cocaine into the province. She was also sentenced to two years in prison for drug possession, which she will serve at the same time.
Her husband, 35-year-old Gurminder Toor, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for importing cocaine, and eight years for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, which he will also serve concurrently.
Calgary lawyer Patrick Fagan, had sought a conditional sentence of two years less a day for his client, Kirandeep, which she could serve in the community. Although the Criminal Code does not permit a conditional sentence for offences punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 14 years or life, Fagan argued during a previous hearing that that provision of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional, and he asked the judge to strike it down.
Madam Justice Johnna Kubik pointed out, however, that since a conditional sentence is not appropriate in Kirandeep’s case, she was not prepared to address the Constitutional question.
A jury found the couple guilty of drug smuggling following a week-long trial last April.
The Toors were transporting produce from California to Airdrie, Alta., and testified during trial they were surprised when border officers found 84 bricks of cocaine hidden inside their commercial truck after they arrived at the Coutts border.
The drugs were worth $3 million to $5 million if sold by the kilogram, and even more if broken down for sale on the street.
Border officers discovered the cocaine in the truck’s sleeper, where the drugs were stashed in and behind a microwave oven, in a drawer, under a blanket on the bottom bunk bed, and under a mattress on the upper bunk. Yet the accused said they had no idea there were drugs in the truck.
Defence for the Toors suggested the drugs were planted in the truck, and Fagan argued the Crown failed to prove Kirandeep knew there was cocaine in the tractor-trailer, and never should have been charged. Gurminder’s lawyer Greg Dunn, argued it’s also “not unreasonable” to believe his client didn’t notice the drugs in the sleeper of the truck.
While Gurminder was also found guilty of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, the jury found Kirandeep guilty of simple drug possession, even though she had also been charged with possession for the purpose.
Fagan suggested the jury must not have been satisfied that Kirandeep intended to profit from the suffering of others, so her moral blameworthiness for importation is significantly reduced, and her sentence could be more in line with that of simple possession.
Kubik disagreed.
“I am not so persuaded,” she said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. “Miss Toor was convicted of two separate offences, and must be sentenced for each. The fact that Miss Toor was acquitted on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and convicted of simple possession, does not serve to reduce the gravity of the importation offence.”
Kubik said Kirandeep was clearly a drug courier, and her moral blameworthiness is high. And while the judge acknowledged the collateral consequences of a prison sentence on Kirandeep and her family, and likely deportation to India, she said a lesser sentence will not adequately address the sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence for such a serious crime.
Kubik also noted Gurminder’s moral blameworthiness is high, and said he knew there were drugs in his truck and intended to bring them into Canada. And while Kubik acknowledged Gurminder’s previous good character, she said the amount and type of drugs are aggravating factors.
“The 84 kilograms seized in this case is an extraordinary amount of cocaine.”

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