R. v. Jawanda

2019 BCSC 1009 R. v. Jawanda IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Citation: R. v. Jawanda, 2019 BCSC 1009 Date: 20190222 Docket: 27277 Registry: Vancouver Regina v. Tarsem Singh Jawanda Before: The Honourable Mr. Justice Schultes Oral Reasons for Sentence Counsel for the Crown: M. Loda Counsel for the Accused Tarsem Singh Jawanda: A. Coulthard, A/S (as Agent for D.L. Karp) Place and Date of Hearing: Vancouver, B.C. October 18 & November 22, 2018 Place and Date of Judgment: Vancouver, B.C. February 22, 2019 Introduction [1] Mr. Jawanda has entered guilty pleas to the offences of trafficking in MDMA and conspiracy to export that substance. The former offence was committed between February 14 and August 15, 2015, and the latter between January 20, 2015 and the same August end date. Circumstances of the Offences Overview [2] The Crown and defence have arrived at a very detailed agreed statement of facts. It comprehensively sets out the facts constituting the offences themselves and the relevant surrounding circumstances. [3] These offences arose in the context of a targeted RCMP investigation of Mr. Jawanda's suspected drug-trafficking activities. The investigative techniques included the use of a police agent, undercover police officers, and the interception of private communications. [4] The trafficking count deals with a series of 10 separate sales of MDMA to a second undercover officer, totalling 15 kilograms of the drug and having a value between $100,000 and $150,000. Mr. Jawanda admits having been the broker of these sales, including obtaining drugs from at least two suppliers and providing them to the purchaser. [5] This undercover officer had represented himself to Mr. Jawanda as having a transportation network as part of his legitimate business. Mr. Jawanda originally attempted to arrange for this officer to transport MDMA (popularly known as ecstasy) to the United States and return with cocaine. [6] The conspiracy count involved Mr. Jawanda and others, including his former co-accused, carrying that export/import plan into action. He arranged with a police agent and another undercover officer to transport 12.5 kilograms of MDMA to the U.S. After that delivery, the agent and the undercover officer were to pick up a substantial load of cocaine and bring it back to Canada. Mr. Jawanda has admitted being a broker of the MDMA that was going to the U.S. and of part of the cocaine that was to have returned. He has also admitted that this operation was "sophisticated in nature". [7] With respect to both counts, it was admitted that the transactions were intended to be ongoing and that the amounts of drugs were expected to increase over time. Mr. Jawanda also admitted that he had active plans to increase the sophistication of the drug operations to "insulate himself from police detection." [8] In addition to summarizing the circumstances of those offences, I will be spending more time than usual on the facts that shed light on the extent of Mr. Jawanda's level of involvement, and on the comparative role of his former co-accused, Anoop Garcha. This is because the Crown and defence have each characterized Mr. Jawanda's involvement quite differently in their submissions, despite the common agreed facts. The defence argued that he actually had a lesser degree of involvement than Mr. Garcha, who has agreed to a joint submission for a lower sentence that the Crown is seeking here. Trafficking [9] The main undercover officer involved in these offences was S.W. He was posing as a businessman with connections to the film industry. The investigators staged a chance meeting between Mr. Jawanda and an officer posing as S.W.'s business associate, which in turn led to Mr. Jawanda meeting S.W. A social relationship developed between them. After S.W. disclosed that he was also involved in illegal businesses, Mr. Jawanda in turn revealed that he "moved drugs south." [10] As I have mentioned, the initial stages of this investigation focused on Mr. Jawanda seeking to use S.W.'s transportation network to move drugs to the U.S. I will summarize that aspect when dealing with the facts that suggest the extent of Mr. Jawanda's role. Ultimately, however, the investigators shifted S.W.'s focus to purchasing various amounts of MDMA from Mr. Jawanda, ostensibly for resale through S.W.'s contacts in Eastern Canada. [11] These sales were: one kilogram for $9,000 on February 14; one kilogram for $9,500 on March 5 and 6; one kilogram for $8,000 on June 4; one kilogram for $8,500 on June 13; one kilogram for $8,500 on June 24; two kilograms for $16,000 on July 7; two kilograms for $17,000 on August 14; two kilograms for $17,000 on August 18; two kilograms for $17,000 on August 21; and finally two kilograms for $18,000 on August 26. [12] The interruption between the March and June dates occurred after Mr. Jawanda and some of his associates detected what they suspected was police surveillance and he and Mr. Garcha began to consider the possibility that S.W. was a police officer. Contact with S.W. was suspended until investigators were able to create the impression that the police interest in Mr. Jawanda was not attributable to S.W., after which their relationship resumed. [13] In the context of attempting to arrange the transportation of MDMA to the U.S. and the return of cocaine with S.W., Mr. Jawanda made numerous comments about his suppliers and his relationships with them, from which his role in the transactions may potentially be inferred. He said that he represented some "big players" who moved very large quantities of drugs, and that he needed to move large quantities south and bring large quantities north. He said he would arrange to have S.W. meet his "associate" in Los Angeles before the deal. [14] In an early meeting, he referred to the drug going south as "meth", but later both it and MDMA were discussed as being the U.S.-bound drugs. He also spoke of wanting one or two loads to go down per week and the same number to return. He subsequently described two loads per week as being possible, in response to S.W.'s description of how frequently his trucks were travelling back and forth to the U.S. [15] Mr. Jawanda described a drop-off and pick-up procedure in Vancouver and Los Angeles. It involved a pick-up location for the MDMA in Surrey, after which he would provide a telephone number for the drop-off of MDMA and pick-up of cocaine in Los Angeles. These two tasks would be carried out at separate locations in L.A. [16] He also said he had 40 kilograms of cocaine in Spokane that he wanted S.W. to pick up, as a test run. Later he advised S.W. that in there were 40 or 50 kilograms of that drug sitting in Portland, likewise needing retrieval. This amount had originally been 80 kilograms, but another transport person, who was now in the hospital, had since picked up a portion of it. [17] He told S.W. that his associates made their own ecstasy pills. He, his friend Rudy Dasta, and an additional associate "partnered" the ecstasy pill side of the business. It was their main business because their "buddy" made it. He told S.W. that he had access to whatever types of ecstasy that S.W. might need - pills come in different colours and with different stamped logos, and the drug comes in powder or crystal form as well. [18] There were also indications in his conversations that Mr. Jawanda's degree of authority and control over this process and the nature of his relationship with his MDMA suppliers were subject to certain limitations. For example, he said he would only be allowed to send 20 kilograms of MDMA in the first load. He described his associates as being nervous about how his initial meeting with S.W. had arisen and that if he could complete an initial 25-kilogram shipment of MDMA to the U.S., they would be "on board". He asked S.W. to provide identification for "peace of mind" - presumably that of his associates. [19] When S.W. was unable to make the initial trip proposed by Mr. Jawanda, he told S.W. that his associates were getting irritated and were really anxious to get the MDMA out of Vancouver. He had to make other arrangements for that load because of the pressure he was under. [20] At that point, Mr. Jawanda said that he had 20 kilograms of MDMA at his house waiting to go to Seattle. It had been made by the people who had provided the sample of crystal MDMA that he had previously given to S.W. There were 90 kilograms of cocaine waiting to come back to Canada, in two different locations. He later advised S.W. that his associates had taken back the MDMA that had been at his house. [21] He told S.W. that the MDMA represented by the sample that he had most recently provided was "gone", but that his associates were making a new batch that would be ready in a day or two. As an alternative, he could get S.W. MDMA that the "Chinese guys" had sent over right away. [22] In response to S.W.'s request to buy a kilogram of MDMA to go to Eastern Canada, he said that his Chinese associates and "the other guy" had agreed to provide it to him. However, these people were upset that the previous 20 kilograms were never transported to the U.S., so Mr. Jawanda could not promise that he could get the specific type of MDMA that S.W. had requested. He said that everyone was getting impatient and later added that his suppliers were annoyed with the delays. [23] The investigators then shifted the focus of the investigation by having S.W. tell Mr. Jawanda that he was not going to transport any drugs to the U.S. for him. Mr. Jawanda responded by saying that he had let his friends and business associates down and that this revelation would cut his credibility "down to zero" with them. He had to sort out the mess caused by S.W.'s refusal and would have to answer a lot of questions, because his associates' orders for drugs were now backed up. He later renewed his request to S.W. to transport the drugs, saying that he was "in a bind". [24] At the point that contact resumed between them, after the belief that S.W. was a police officer had been dispelled, Mr. Jawanda told S.W., "We got our own chef," in relation to MDMA. [25] After the June 4th sale, Mr. Jawanda said he had access to lots of the powder-type MDMA that S.W. had purchased previously, but that the suppliers of the crystal version that S.W. also inquired about were "biker style" and would want their money first. [26] After the June 13th sale, he said he had a new batch of better quality MDMA that was being produced by his new cook. When S.W. expressed concern on June 23rd about Mr. Jawanda being able to provide him with larger volumes in the future, Mr. Jawanda referred to "15 here and 35 pick-up the other day, that's what I have coming that way," which appears to be a reference to additional supply. [27] On July 7, he told S.W. that he would have his suppliers drop the price if S.W. purchased higher quantities and would start adding the MDMA that he was having produced himself to the load he was selling to S.W. [28] On July 29, when S.W. briefly revived the possibility on July 29 of transporting some MDMA to the U.S. on August 20, Mr. Jawanda asked if he had room for 20 kilograms. He said he would need a couple of days to talk to someone and that "he would be dealing with the Chinese guys." Mr. Chen, another former co-accused who I will discuss further, later advised Mr. Jawanda that he did not have any MDMA supply for that day. [29] After S.W. placed an order on August 13, Mr. Jawanda said he would phone his supplier right away. After the delivery on August 20, which was supplied by Mr. Chen, Mr. Jawanda said this supplier was very trusted and was his "main guy", with whom he had been working for 10 years. After this transaction, he and S.W. discussed him providing 20 kilograms of MDMA for S.W. to transport to the U.S. It would consist of 10 kilograms from a supplier and 10 produced by Mr. Jawanda himself. [30] He told his girlfriend, the former co-accused Gurchet Manhas, that he had made $500 on the March 6 sale and that he was going to make $1,000 on the June 24th sale. [31] Mr. Jawanda also made some comments during the course of the investigation that potentially shed light on his working relationship with Mr. Garcha and their respective roles. He had introduced Mr. Garcha as his business partner in relation to selling MDMA. After the second sale of MDMA to S.W., Mr. Jawanda said he was splitting the profits of the sale with Mr. Garcha because "he does all my running around." He asked Ms. Manhas if she thought he should give Mr. Garcha $250 of the $500 he earned on the March 6th sale. In a subsequent intercepted conversation between Mr. Jawanda and Ms. Manhas, he told her that he was going to tell Mr. Garcha that they should buy the raw materials and make their own MDMA with the profit they expected to earn on an anticipated 10-kilogram sale of MDMA to S.W. The next day he asked Mr. Garcha to get his associates to lower the price of a 10-kilogram sale to S.W. and reminded Mr. Garcha that the money they would make from the sale was going into their "joint pot". He resisted Ms. Manhas's suggestion that he should not share the profit on the basis that S.W. was his contact, stating instead that he and Mr. Garcha were working together and that Mr. Garcha was taking the risk with him. [32] After S.W. paid him $130,000 for this larger transaction of 10 kilograms, he told Ms. Manhas that he had given Mr. Garcha $90,000 to purchase the MDMA and kept $40,000 as their profit. When Mr. Garcha was unable to obtain the MDMA that had been paid for, Mr. Jawanda returned the money to S.W., but with the explanation that the suppliers had brought a different kind of MDMA than had been requested. [33] As I have previously mentioned, but also relevant in the context of Mr. Garcha's role, the day after they had detected police surveillance, Mr. Jawanda met with Mr. Garcha and discussed the belief that S.W. was a police officer. [34] As an example of the sophistication of the operation, according to the Crown, Mr. Jawanda provided S.W. with a BlackBerry that was equipped with encryption software. Later, when Mr. Jawanda and Mr. Garcha came to suspect that S.W. was a police officer, the messages on S.W.'s BlackBerry were remotely erased. After the reconciliation, if one can call it that, he was provided with another encrypted BlackBerry. [35] There were also observations made by investigators from which it could be inferred that Mr. Jawanda was being regularly supplied with MDMA by Mr. Chen. In all of the completed MDMA sales, except the second one, there is evidence of Mr. Chen supplying the drug to Mr. Jawanda, frequently accompanied by phone calls setting up the arrangements, as well as evidence from which it can be inferred that Mr. Jawanda then paid Mr. Chen for the drugs. Conspiracy [36] Mr. Jawanda first approached the agent, whom he had met previously through one of his associates, to transport drugs for him to and from the U.S. The agent then introduced the undercover operator, R.W., to Mr. Jawanda as his friend - a commercial truck driver who could assist with the task. The agent represented that he wanted R.W. to accompany him because the agent had health problems. [37] In a conversation on January 20, the agent and Mr. Jawanda, along with Ms. Manhas, discussed getting the agent a new truck into which the drugs could be concealed. Mr. Jawanda suggested buying the truck and then taking the money out of the first delivery payment. He also asked the agent if he could make a quick run to Spokane with the agent's other vehicle to get the 40 kilograms of cocaine that was waiting there to be picked up. (This was previously described in the operation involving S.W.) Mr. Jawanda said he had the contact information for the person in Spokane and could provide it to the agent. He also said that after this test load transporting would be a steady job, with a load going every week or two. [38] On February 13, Mr. Jawanda proposed that the agent and R.W. would take 25 kilograms of MDMA to Seattle and then go on to Los Angeles to bring back 40 kilograms of cocaine. He said they would meet the contact person with a half of a U.S. $1 bill that would match the half in the contact person's possession. [39] When the agent told Mr. Jawanda on the 18th that R.W.'s truck had broken down and they could not complete the transaction, Mr. Jawanda said everyone was expecting the transport would commence tomorrow and the delay was going to make him look bad. When the agent said that he and R.W. were ready to start transporting a few days later, Mr. Jawanda said he would need a few days and had not expected him to be ready again so quickly. He then told them he needed to look at the vehicle that would be used. [40] On March 2, he and Mr. Garcha met with the agent and R.W. Mr. Garcha told them they would be bringing vacuum-sealed bags of MDMA to the U.S. and "stuff" back. He and Mr. Jawanda both said the first load was going to Seattle. They viewed the hidden compartment in R.W.'s truck and it was decided that he needed a better truck. Mr. Garcha said he needed a couple of hours to make a decision and what they would be bringing would be "crystals". Mr. Jawanda later told R.W. that Mr. Garcha thought the compartment was "a bit Mickey Mouse" and that they needed to arrange the exchange location in the U.S. [41] In May, R.W. advised that he had another vehicle with a secret compartment and he and Mr. Jawanda agreed that he could use that. He told R.W. that he would be going to either Los Angeles or San Francisco, bringing 50 kilograms down and taking about half that amount back to Canada. He also said his "guys" were ready. [42] At a meeting in Merritt on May 24, the agent described the dimensions of the secret compartment to Mr. Jawanda, who thought they could get a hundred kilograms of drugs into it. When he was later provided with photos of the compartment by the agent, he calculated it as holding 40 kilograms instead. He said he did not know when the load was going and was only meeting with the agent to be sure they were ready. He said his "original guy" and his "Chinese guy" had drugs to be transported on the truck. He was going to give the go-ahead to his guys to make the MDMA that was going to be exported. [43] He asked the agent to go and get a load of cocaine from Portland in the meantime, but the agent said that if he was going to take that kind of chance, he wanted to be transporting drugs both ways. [44] Mr. Jawanda said this MDMA was being made at a different location because there was currently an appraisal being done at his house, but they were working on his house so it could be made there in future. [45] Perhaps significantly for the issues in this sentencing, Mr. Jawanda said that a lot of the planning for this export/import scenario was in his control and a lot was in the control of the other guy who was sending it. Mr. Jawanda then told R.W. they were ready to go. [46] R.W. arrived in the Lower Mainland on June 13. However, on June 14, Mr. Chen told Mr. Jawanda that "Tuesday got cancelled" and that his suppliers had "fuck all" right now. Mr. Jawanda then asked R.W. to bear with him and that the arrangements were falling into place. The number of kilograms that R.W. would be transporting would be "decent" and would improve over time, he said. [47] On June 20, in an intercepted conversation, he told Ms. Manhas that the transport plan had been all worked out but then Garcha and Chen had pulled the plug on it. [48] When R.W. did not respond to his indication that the transport was ready to go, he contacted S.W. again and asked him to cover it saying, "I promised T.P. [which I infer meant transport] to someone," and "got 15 going to Los Angeles tomorrow and 30 back Wednesday, Thursday." [49] He later told R.W. that he wanted to save face, because the suppliers were sitting ready. In relation to this forthcoming run, he then told R.W. there would be 25 kilograms going in each direction and that it was a test load for the suppliers. R.W. would be paid $2,000 a kilogram. Mr. Jawanda would give him $5,000 up front, which he asked Mr. Dasta withdraw from the bank. He later told R.W. that Mr. Garcha was his right-hand man and that it did not matter if "you were talking to [him] or Garcha." He said the drugs would be put in the truck in the next day or two and he would give them the exact information in person. It would be a "straight change" in Los Angeles and they would return from there as soon as they received the drugs. [50] On June 23, he told an unindicted co-conspirator, Fred Glass, that he had picked up the MDMA and was going to meet with the transport. This took place at a location in Abbotsford. [51] Before Mr. Garcha arrived at the meeting point, Mr. Jawanda asked the agent and R.W. to tell Mr. Garcha that they had already done one delivery for him, I infer to inspire greater confidence in them on Mr. Garcha's part. He told them they would be taking 12.5 kilograms to Los Angeles and he anticipated they would be receiving 30 to 40 kilograms of cocaine. However, his "Chinese buddy" might have 30 to 40 more kilograms to bring back. [52] He explained a code system, under which they would purchase a new phone in the United States and then text a code word to him to let him know they had crossed the border safely. They were to send another code word once the MDMA was picked up, at which point Mr. Jawanda would see if the Chinese buddy had additional cocaine. [53] He said he had done business with the guys on the U.S. side and that the agent and R.W. did not have to worry about their safety. Once this load was done, they could go every couple of weeks. He also gave them the name of a lawyer in case they got in trouble down there. [54] When Mr. Garcha arrived he provided more detailed instructions, involving a code to decipher a phone number that he would give them once they got to Los Angeles. He also told them the first name of the person they would be dealing with and how the drop-off and pick-up would go. The MDMA was then loaded into the secret compartment. [55] After it was taken away by R.W. and the agent, the investigators seized it and then arranged a placebo delivery in Los Angeles, by a person posing as R.W. That delivery took place as planned and the placebo was then re-seized by U.S. officials in a roadside traffic stop and arrest of the person who had picked it up. [56] Using Mr. Jawanda's usual phone, Mr. Garcha continued to communicate with the person whom he believed was R.W. in Los Angeles, texting "buddy will release me the number when we know the exact area to do the transfer." Mr. Glass told Mr. Garcha that the person who was supposed to pick up the MDMA was "a bit delayed" and they "should know" in half an hour. Mr. Garcha then told R.W. the serial number of a dollar bill that the pick-up person would present to him and texted that person's phone number, using the code previously arranged. After some difficulties, Mr. Garcha was able to connect with the other parties in L.A. and the officer posing as R.W. made contact with the drop-off person, as I have described. [57] More importantly for the current sentencing purposes, Mr. Jawanda also communicated to R.W. around the time that the codes were provided. He said, "Andy [Mr. Garcha] has info, answer your phone," to R.W. This was at the time Mr. Garcha was providing the dollar bill serial number and the phone number and code. The next day he texted saying that Mr. Garcha was with his "people, sorting this thing out". He also texted, "I didn't know, I thought you guys left yesterday." [58] Mr. Chen then called Mr. Jawanda and told him there was an order of cocaine that his transport could pick up, 24 kilograms. Mr. Jawanda told Mr. Chen that his transport was leaving that night and he would "see what we've got." [59] After the arrest, Mr. Garcha told Mr. Glass that he was going to meet with the "TP boss", in 20 minutes. About an hour later, he met with Mr. Jawanda. [60] Mr. Jawanda told Ms. Manhas after news of the apprehension filtered out that the loss was about $100,000, but he had had problems before and, "this was not that big of a loss for us." He expressed the hope that everyone "would be paid a little bit". In reference to those involved, he said it was "a small eyed man" there, which I infer meant in Los Angeles, and that the boss here was Caucasian. [61] He then made ongoing efforts to speak to R.W. and the agent about the loss of the product and to have them come to Vancouver for a lie detector test. Shortly after the seizure, he expressed the concern to Ms. Manhas that they had been in an accident. [62] Mr. Jawanda was arrested shortly after his final sale of MDMA to S.W. Circumstances of the Offender [63] Mr. Jawanda's personal background was described in the presentence report and supplemented by his counsel's thorough submissions. [64] He is now 55 years old. He was born in India, but immigrated to Canada at age 12 after his father died and his mother was unable to provide for him. He was raised from then on in Canada by his aunt and uncle. Unfortunately they did not develop a close relationship with him during his upbringing. In his recollection, it more resembled foster care. He moved out after completing high school. He got employment immediately and has worked steadily since. He was later able to sponsor his mother and brother to come to Canada. [65] After working as a concrete truck operator, he purchased his own truck and established a concrete business, which he maintains today. His nephew will be able to run it while he is in custody, according to his counsel, and it will be waiting for him to return to when he is eventually released. According to the presentence report, he earned about $100,000 per year from it last year. [66] He has been married since 1988 and has two adult children. Despite remaining in the marriage, he has described it as one of convenience. For a significant period he was in a relationship with Ms. Manhas. [67] He has a conviction for possession of a weapon from 1984 for which he received six months' probation. The sentence imposed is a likely indication of that offence's seriousness, and it is very dated in any event. [68] He advises that the origins of this offence lie in the heavy drinking that he engaged in as a result of his unhappiness in his marriage. That developed into alcoholism. He estimates that at his worst he was drunk 80 percent of the time, including during some of the drug deals. [69] In time, he turned to gambling and also became addicted to that activity, exhausting his family's finances and becoming effectively destitute. A loan shark to whom he was indebted introduced him to drug trafficking and all of the money he earned in this matter went to servicing his gambling debts. [70] According to counsel, and also reflected in the presentence report, his arrest and charge in this matter became the catalyst for serious attempts at rehabilitation. He stopped gambling, placed himself on exclusion lists at various casinos, copies of which were provided as exhibits on sentencing, and began to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings. He also attends weekly counselling for alcohol abuse at his temple and stopped drinking about a year ago. [71] However, at the time that the presentence report was being prepared, he disclosed to the probation officer that he was drinking "only moderately". He also seemed to indicate that his drinking problem (which he described as being "a functioning alcoholic") was of longer duration that was described in his counsel's submissions. He explained it was the result of being involved in the construction industry, in which heavy drinking is a regular activity. Because this discrepancy may be the result of a miscommunication with either the probation officer or his counsel, and because the essential point of both versions is that he was abusing alcohol at the time the offences, I am not inclined to give it much weight. [72] His children have rallied around him and they, along with his counsellor and an employee of his business have provided letters attesting to many positive personal qualities, his remorse over having been involved in these offences, and his efforts to withdraw himself from that previous lifestyle. [73] Mr. Jawanda also has some health problems. He was diagnosed with anxiety and depression about 10 years ago and continues to take medication to treat them. His doctor recently adjusted his anti-anxiety medication to cope with an increase in that disorder, perhaps in relation to his forthcoming incarceration. He also has high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes, although his doctor told the author of the probation officer that everything is currently well controlled by medication. [74] The presentence report is positive overall. Mr. Jawanda has complied fully with all aspects of his community supervision. In his discussions with the probation officer, he expressed regret and accepted responsibility for his actions. The report describes him as appearing to have some insight into the impact of his offences on his community and on himself. Positions Crown [75] The Crown's submission is that a sentence of imprisonment in the range of nine or 10 years should be imposed on the conspiracy count, with a concurrent sentence for the trafficking, treating it as an aggravating factor. In the Crown's view, the three to four-year range sought by the defence, which I will discuss, might potentially be appropriate for the trafficking count alone but it does not address the very serious circumstances of the conspiracy. [76] In support of her position, Crown counsel relied mainly on the following cases. [77] In R. v. Ma, 2005 BCSC 493, the offender had been found guilty of importing 76 kilograms of ecstasy into Canada and possession for the purpose of trafficking in relation to the same circumstances. The drugs had been concealed in a commercial oven that was being lawfully imported. The offender arranged for the delivery of the oven and was arrested in the course of opening its side panels, presumably to retrieve the product. The sentencing judge inferred that he had received instructions as to the importation and receipt of the oven containing the drugs from a third party with whom he was in communication. The Crown takes the position that the third party's role is comparable to Mr. Jawanda's directing role in the export/import scheme in this case. [78] That offender was 53 years old, had no criminal record, and worked steadily since immigrating to Canada more than 30 years previously. [79] In arriving at her sentence, the sentencing judge considered the amount of drugs involved (250,000 pills, at that time one of the largest seizures of ecstasy in Western Canada); the offender's integral role in the importation, despite not having been at the top of the hierarchy; and the fact that he was motivated by profit. [80] She noted, based on previous authorities, that the fact that the police had interceded and created a controlled delivery of the drugs, in which most of what the offender actually picked up were placebos, did not lessen the seriousness of the offence, nor did the offender's role as "a kind of courier". [81] She considered the often-cited case of R. v. Hoang, [2002] O.J. No. 1355, (S.C.J.), identifying a proposed starting point of three to four years' imprisonment for a "one-off" importation of between 5,000 and 20,000 ecstasy pills. She found herself unable to identify a specific analogous range for larger importations, although it would clearly fall somewhere within the four to 10-year range. (10 years was the maximum at that time for a Schedule III drug. Since 2012, MDMA has been a Schedule I drug, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.) [82] The sentencing judge accepted, as a matter of common sense, that unless importers face longer sentences for larger shipments than smaller shipments, they will be inclined to ship as large a quantity as possible in a single shipment, to reduce the opportunities for detection, as well as to maximize their profits. However, she noted that actual experience may be more nuanced. In the case before her, the offender had taken a calculated risk in committing serious criminal offences that could, if undetected, have brought him considerable financial gain, at huge cost to the community. The sentence imposed had to show that risk not to have been worthwhile. She imposed concurrent sentences of six years on each count. [83] Crown counsel asked me to keep in mind that the offender in that case was subservient to another participant, whereas the she submits Mr. Jawanda gave directions and was the primary organizer. It is also significant that Mr. Jawanda intended there to be a reciprocal importation of cocaine as part of the plan and that he was selling MDMA domestically to the other undercover officer. [84] In R. v. Mehan and Stark, 2015 BCSC 1488, Mr. Mehan was convicted after a trial of conspiracy to import cocaine and Mr. Stark was convicted of that offence and conspiracy to traffic in the same drug. Two separate seizures, of 121 and 97 kilograms of cocaine respectively, were made from commercial vehicles attempting to enter Canada. Mr. Stark brokered a significant portion of the first shipment, including negotiating a purchase price and facilitating the exchange of payment in the U.S. He arranged the purchase of a second shipment, while Mr. Mehan arranged for it to be transported to Canada and for the sale of a portion of it to local buyers. Relevant for our purposes, the sentencing judge accepted that part of Mr. Mehan's enhanced role was to arrange for the transportation of the drugs from U.S. to Canada. The motivation for both offenders was found to be "profit and greed", with the expectation of considerable profit. [85] Among the principles that the sentencing judge drew from the cases cited was that the role of the individual in a sophisticated importation operation is of great importance in the sentencing analysis. Key players, who operate as the directing minds of an importation operation, will receive longer sentences. While a hired transporter's culpability was significant, it was somewhat less egregious than that of high-level importers and traffickers. [86] Mr. Mehan had an old and unrelated criminal conviction and had addressed a drug addiction from which he had previously suffered. He received a sentence of 10 years. Mr. Stark had no previous record and was married with four children. He received 13 years. [87] Crown counsel explained that lower sentences are being sought for Mr. Jawanda because of the lower amount of drugs involved. [88] Finally, R. v. Montgomery, 2018 BCCA 27, a recent decision of our Court of Appeal, was an appeal from an aggregate sentence of 14 years for conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to traffic in it, and possession of it for the purpose of trafficking. The circumstances involved 97 kilograms of cocaine being imported into Canada, as in the Ma case hidden inside a lawfully imported machine. Also as in Ma, the cocaine was replaced with a placebo and a controlled delivery took place. [89] The sentencing judge had found that Mr. Montgomery was in a senior role in the Canadian side of the importation and was a "senior and central figure" in respect of the planned trafficking. The judge referred to his role in "giving directions rather than taking them" and his discussion of the plans for the distribution of the cocaine. Although the offender had family and community support, the judge concluded that he expressed no remorse nor took any responsibility for his role in the offence or its impact on the community. As a result, his rehabilitative prospects were poor and specific deterrence needed to be emphasized. [90] Finding no error in principle and that the sentence fell within the range of sentence applicable for offences of this kind, the Court of Appeal dismissed the offender's appeal. [91] In terms of general propositions emerging from the cases, the Crown observes that the range of four to 10 years was identified for the importation of MDMA when 10 years was the maximum sentence, and that cocaine importation has justified sentences in the eight to 14-year range, depending on the circumstances. More broadly, it is clear that the deterrence of large-scale cross-border movements of drugs remains a very important sentencing consideration. [92] Turning to the individualized matters informing sentence, Crown counsel accepts the mitigating factors are: that Mr. Jawanda has a dated and unrelated past conviction, although this is moderated by his admission that he has been involved in criminal activity for an extended number of years; his acceptance of responsibility by a guilty plea without challenging the admissibility of the evidence; and his compliance with bail conditions for an extended period. [93] There are said to be several aggravating features as well, which should increase the sentence beyond the six years that Mr. Ma received. Two Schedule I drugs were involved in the conspiracy. One is a party or rave drug aimed at the youth market and the other is well known for its very harmful addictive properties. The exportation would turn Canada into a source of MDMA internationally and the importation would make a harmful drug that is not indigenous to Canada available here. Both the cross-border drugs to be shipped and the ones sold domestically were in significant amounts. The limitation on the exported one was only due to what Mr. Jawanda's friends were able to procure. [94] These different ways of dealing with drugs were described by the Crown as "multiple tentacles of criminality". Mr. Jawanda had established producers, suppliers, and partners, and was familiar with the mechanics of these activities. As I have described, he referred to having been involved in activity of this kind for years. The activities were planned to continue in the future in increased amounts of drugs and monetary value. Having his own legitimate business at the same time gave him a veil of respectability and the various aspects of these operations were sophisticated, as has been admitted, featuring such elements as encrypted BlackBerrys, testing MDMA for quality, assessing the adequacy of a secret compartment in light of the standards of the group, and an ability to detect police surveillance and to call on multiple suppliers. Particularly noteworthy in this regard, in the Crown's submission, are the arrangements that were to take place for the drug delivery and pick-up in Los Angeles including separate locations for each activity, contact phone numbers to obtain further instructions, and the need either to match a torn dollar bill or provide a serial number of a dollar bill in order to proceed further. [95] This is all in addition to what the Crown reminds me are the inherently aggravated aspects of any conspiracy of this nature. Defence [96] As I have indicated, Mr. Jawanda's counsel submitted that a range of three to four years' imprisonment would be sufficient to meet all of the applicable objectives of sentencing in this case. He submits the facts show a limited role for Mr. Jawanda in the export/import scheme, only securing a driver to make the trips. For the MDMA sales, he was in essence a middleman - providing the buyer to the seller. [97] The relatively small amount he was paid for an MDMA transaction (he earned $9,000 in the entire venture, according to his counsel) went completely to pay his gambling debts. While this is a gain in the general sense, counsel acknowledges, it is very different from greed at large as a motivating factor to become involved. [98] Since these offences, Mr. Jawanda has addressed both his gambling addiction and alcohol addiction. He was otherwise a contributing member of society, working and operating a business, and there is no evidence, despite the Crown's suggestion, that his legitimate business was ever any kind of guise under which to carry out criminal activity, or assisted in that activity by conferring any veneer of respectability. [99] Notwithstanding its location since 2012 in Schedule I, Mr. Jawanda's counsel referred me to medical studies that have called into question some of the alleged harmful effects of MDMA. For example, he referred to B.C.'s former Chief Provincial Health Officer calling for its legalization on the basis that its risks are overblown, and a study from the United Kingdom that ranked it as the seventeenth out of 20 most harmful drugs, with powder cocaine, the other drug implicated in this importation scheme, ranking fifth. The point I should take from this, counsel argues, is that I cannot equate the harmfulness of cocaine, which poses a much greater risk to the community and formed the basis for the sentences in some of the cases that the Crown relies on, with the actual risks posed by MDMA. [100] Equally importantly, I am reminded that Mr. Jawanda has not entered a guilty plea to any offence involving cocaine and that he did not sell or even see that substance during any of his dealings with the undercover officers or the agent. [101] Addressing the trafficking counts, counsel submits that Mr. Jawanda never controlled the MDMA supply. His only role was to broker a deal between S.W. and the seller, for a modest fee. The facts show him essentially scrambling to get what the officer wanted and putting the officer off until he was able to do so. In particular, they show that he did not have the money to pay Mr. Chen and had to have the MDMA fronted to him n until he was paid by S.W. Despite his comments to the undercover officer about what a "big guy" he was in the business, the facts show that when he had a deal with S.W., he called up one or two suppliers and ultimately received $500 for his involvement. For one transaction, he described sharing that amount with Mr. Garcha. The higher profit for the 10-kilogram sale that did not come off was based on S.W.'s willingness to pay considerably more per kilogram - $13,500 - than he had in the one and two-kilogram deals. [102] This is not a case, Mr. Jawanda's counsel submits, of a person who was high up within the hierarchy or the owner of the drugs. In fact, Mr. Jawanda's naivety is best demonstrated by his continuing association with S.W. despite warnings from his superiors that he might be a police officer. While counsel concedes that the moral culpability of selling drugs to an undercover officer is the same as to an actual drug buyer, S.W. continued to push Mr. Jawanda to make MDMA sales, so it is questionable whether the continuing nature of the transactions is as aggravating a factor as the Crown contends. (I understood counsel to be arguing, in essence, that while Mr. Jawanda is responsible for his various decisions to sell drugs, the fact that the domestic sales became ongoing was a matter entirely in the hands of the investigators.) [103] With respect to the conspiracy, counsel asks me to note that Mr. Jawanda had no transportation of his own, no employees or infrastructure, and no capital with which to purchase drugs. He says that all of Mr. Jawanda's grandiose talk was exposed as nonsense over months, when nothing was happening and S.W. was asking for details he did not have. This includes his references to various quantities of cocaine that needed to be picked up in the U.S. When he said that his original guy and the Chinese guy had drugs to go in R.W.'s vehicle, the important thing for me to keep in mind is that these were not Mr. Jawanda's drugs. [104] Mr. Chen advised him peremptorily that the planned delivery which Mr. Jawanda was going to pass on to R.W. and the agent to transport had simply been cancelled. In relation to the June 22nd matter, he had to contact Mr. Garcha to coordinate receiving the drugs, although he met with Mr. Chen for the same purpose the next day. He needed Mr. Dasta to get the expense money for the transporters from the bank because he was unable to cover their expenses out front. [105] Crucially in counsel's submission, it was Mr. Garcha who gave R.W. and the agent the code to decipher the phone number that Mr. Garcha would give them once they were in Los Angeles, as well as the details of their meeting and the contact person down there. Mr. Garcha also maintained contact with the person he thought was R.W. during what was simulated to be the actual lead-up to transporting the load. As counsel put it, Mr. Garcha took over when the deal "got going for real" with Mr. Jawanda being shunted to one side. [106] For all of this involvement and his role in the domestic MDMA sales as revealed in the statement of facts, Mr. Garcha will receive four years' imprisonment and the facts put forward by the Crown against Mr. Jawanda simply do not justify two-and-a-half times that sentence for his actual role. Such a range is instead suitable for someone in a boss position. [107] On the impact to Mr. Jawanda's personal circumstances, his counsel stresses his efforts to overcome his addictions and the numerous issues that he could have explored had he chosen to have a trial, given the number of special investigative techniques that were employed here. His gambling and alcohol addictions should be considered as mitigating factors, comparable to the role of drug addicts in trafficking cases, as should his support and his family and in the community and the positive presentence report. [108] Counsel submits that the Ma decision cited by the Crown actually supports the range of sentence that he seeks for Mr. Jawanda. A conviction following a trial, a much larger quantity of MDMA, and a greater, more hands-on, role in the importation still led to a sentence of only six years, with three or four years identified as the starting point. The other authorities involve very significant amounts of cocaine, a more serious drug, and much more prominent roles for the offenders, including a so-called senior role on the Canadian side for Montgomery. [109] The defence referred to cases that establish a lower range in relation to the MDMA-related trafficking activities. [110] In R. v. Russell and Grenfal, 2000 BCSC 27, a case included in the Crown's authorities but not referred to extensively, Mr. Russell had entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine and trafficking in MDMA. Mr. Grenfal pleaded guilty to the latter charge. The first count related to efforts by Mr. Russell to set up a methamphetamine lab. The second involved importing MDMA from Europe by Mr. Russell travelling there and mailing ecstasy pills totalling 5,000 back to Canada. Mr. Grenfal's role was to rent the mailboxes to which the drugs were sent in the Lower Mainland and then checking the boxes. He acted as Mr. Russell's middleman in selling the drug to lower-level dealers here and also purchased some of the drugs himself for resale. The sentencing judge found that Russell was in charge of the scheme and that Grenfal was his employee. Mr. Russell was 54 and had no criminal record. He had served seven months of pretrial custody before being released. Mr. Grenfal, interestingly, was a 67-year-old pharmacist who had previously been in prison for tax evasion. Russell received a sentence of four years, which was the equivalent of five years and two months after pretrial custody credit, and Mr. Grenfal received a sentence of two years less a day with the judge rejecting an appeal for a conditional sentence. [111] R. v. Higgins, 2018 BCSC 743, involved an offender receiving a sentence of three years' imprisonment pursuant to a joint submission, following a guilty plea to conspiracy to traffic in MDMA. The offender had arranged for two kilograms of cocaine to be brought into Canada to be exchanged for 117,000 pills of ecstasy to go back to the U.S. The net weight of the actual controlled substance was 2.3 kilograms and its value was $70,000 to $80,000. It was admitted that the operation was sophisticated. The 34-year-old offender had a conviction for possession of marihuana for the purposes of trafficking subsequent to this offence, for which he had received a fine. He had serious health problems due to a workplace accident. Other unusual factors were the offence itself was 10 years old and had taken almost six years to come to resolution because of delays that were not caused in any respect by this offender, but rather by his co-accused. [112] R. v. Yang, 2017 BCPC 286, involved guilty pleas to the production of MDMA, possession of it for purposes of trafficking, and possession of marihuana for the purposes of trafficking. In addition to a large amount of pre-packed marihuana, ready for sale, that was found in the offender's vehicle, his residence contained equipment for producing MDMA, 5.86 kilograms of that drug in powder form, and 20.2 litres in liquid. The sentencing judge found that the offender was actively involved in the production of this drug. He was a 46-year-old immigrant who had no previous criminal record and was married with an infant child. What is relevant for our purposes is that the MDMA-related counts yielded concurrent sentences of 30 months' imprisonment. [113] The offender in R. v. Egorov, 2006 BCPC 516, sold an undercover officer more than 15,000 ecstasy pills over a four-month period, in eight transactions. The sentencing judge found that he was more than a street or rave-level dealer, that he sold to other dealers and that he had access to sizeable quantities, although he did not deal directly with manufacturers. He was 22 years old and had no criminal record. He had emigrated from Russia nine years earlier and had trouble with English. After a period living away from his family, he was back in the family home as of the sentencing date. He received a conditional sentence of two years less a day. [114] R. v. Pabla, 2013 BCSC 1588, was a conviction after trial for conspiracy to produce MDMA and production of it. The offender was a worker at an ecstasy production facility which was found at the time of police seizure to contain 6.9 kilograms of ecstasy, as well as a substantial amount of other drugs that were described as controlled substances in powder form. However, the sentencing judge did not attribute control over these items to the offender. [115] He was 20 years old at the time of his involvement. He had no criminal record and had experienced a difficult childhood, which had caused him to become friends with someone with a serious gang involvement. The sentencing judge noted that: 46 But for Mr. Pabla's youth, mental health challenges, remorseful attitude, and associated excellent prospects for rehabilitation, I would have imposed a lengthier term of imprisonment to be served in a penitentiary The judge imposed concurrent sentences of imprisonment of two years less a day. [116] To illustrate a lower sentence being imposed for more aggravated circumstances than those that are present here, the defence cited the Ontario case of R. v. Chibani, [2014] O.J. No. 6662. The offender was convicted after trial of conspiracy to export ecstasy pills. He was described by the sentencing judge as the "mastermind" of the operation, in which 22.7 kilograms of the drug was driven across the border into the U.S. He was also a repeat offender, with previous convictions for possession and two convictions for possession for the purpose of trafficking. He received a sentence of six years' imprisonment. The defence says that sentence could be usefully contrasted to what is being sought in relation to Mr. Jawanda's actions and background. [117] Finally, the defence referred to the decision of R. v. Choi, 2013 ONSC 291, in which a search warrant executed on the offender's bedroom at his parents' home found, among other drugs, 1.7 kilograms of MDMA. He pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking of that drug as well as of ketamine and marihuana. He was 25 years old at the time of the offence and had no previous criminal record. He was accepted to be a mid-level trafficker who was motivated by profit. He had come under the influence of participants in the drug culture during his final year in college, but by the time of sentencing he was an up-and-coming fashion designer. He received a sentence of two years less a day. [118] Mr. Jawanda's counsel also provided examples of conditional and provincial-range sentences that have been imposed in this province in relation to other Schedule I substances in circumstances of arguably greater seriousness than the present case. Crown reply [119] Crown counsel submits that the characterization put forward by Mr. Jawanda's counsel of role in the offence is ultimately inconsistent with the agreed statement of facts and any inferences emerging from it. For example, Mr. Jawanda admitted formally that he brokered both the MDMA going south and the cocaine going north, that these were sophisticated operations, and that they were intended to continue and grow in value. Further, the failure of the export plan to move forward was not due to a lack of real connections on Mr. Jawanda's part, but rather the suspicion that S.W. was a police officer, which led him to break off contact for several months. He was ultimately willing to proceed with it further, using R.W. and the agent. [120] The Crown disputes the placement of Mr. Jawanda at a lower level than, or equivalent level to Mr. Garcha. He was described by Mr. Garcha as the transportation "boss" and said that Mr. Garcha did all of his running around. Couriers are certainly a necessary part of the drug business, but someone who arranges the transportation must be seen as higher in the hierarchy and more necessary, in the Crown's submission. [121] Crown counsel describes the cases relied on by the defence as unhelpful outliers when compared to Mr. Jawanda's circumstances. Both Higgins and Pabla feature unusually low sentences that reflect the very significant mitigating factors that were present. Pabla also lacked the cross-border dimension that is present and so seriously aggravating here. In the normal course, as the judge in Pabla stressed: 45 [A]n unambiguously serious consequence should flow from active, ongoing participation in sophisticated, large‑scale, socially harmful activity of the sort present in this case. [122] With respect to the defence submissions about the comparative seriousness of MDMA, Crown counsel submits that it is simply not open to us to go behind its location in Schedule I and treat it as a less serious drug than Parliament has deliberately chosen to characterize it. Discussion [123] As I have said, despite the agreed statement of facts and its comprehensiveness, there is a meaningful disagreement about the role to be ascribed to Mr. Jawanda in these offences both in itself and as an issue of parity with the sentence anticipated for Mr. Garcha. [124] I will begin dealing with this issue by saying that it is helpful for sentencing purposes, especially when applying ranges established by the Court of Appeal, to identify offenders'' general levels of involvement in the drug activity in question. This ensures that similar offenders are dealt with in a similar way. In practice however, the actual business structures of exporting, importing, or trafficking drugs do not always turn out to be as formal or invariable as such labels might sometimes imply. In particular, roles may not be uniform across the different groups who engage in these activities. [125] What matters for sentencing purposes, ultimately, is to identify with as much precision as possible the specific degree of involvement of the offender, in terms of the actions they performed in relation to the activities, rather than focusing on which label from the sentencing authorities should be applied to them. That specific involvement will be a key factor in determining their degree of moral culpability which, in turn, drives the type of sentence that is necessary to achieve proportionality. [126] Mr. Jawanda has admitted acting as a broker for both the domestic sales of MDMA and the shipment to Los Angeles with a return of cocaine. He has also admitted that these activities were sophisticated in nature. Neither admission is determinative of his specific degree of responsibility however, which must emerge more subtly from the totality of the statement of facts and the inferences reasonably available from it. [127] At the end of the day, I conclude that both the Crown and the defence's characterization of his participation are accurate to a degree. [128] On one hand, it is clear that he was attempting to arrange, through the agent and two different undercover operators, the actual movement of MDMA to the United States in return for actual cocaine that was available to be transported. While the agent and the undercover officers were the focus of his requests, they did not create a need that did not previously exist. Nor can I find it was the type of activity that Mr. Jawanda seized upon only after becoming acquainted with their capacities. [129] His references to other destinations and test loads seemed to me to refer to transport jobs that he was in fact capable of arranging. Similarly, he had sufficient access to suppliers to regularly provide S.W. with MDMA at the kilogram level or more without much strain. Until his supply from Mr. Chen stalled, he had brokered a 10-kilogram sale with a higher profit margin than usual and with the prospect of further such large sales. There is also no reason to doubt his stated intention to move into production himself shortly. [130] His activities were aided by techniques such as encrypted communication devices and he was conversant with other features of high-level import schemes such as sophisticated compartments in vehicles, code messages, and pick-up and drop-off schemes that seem intended to minimize the possibility of apprehension. [131] On the other hand, however, there is really nothing to suggest a supervisory or decision-making role, beyond arranging the transport of drugs for others. His descriptions of those supplying him with the drugs for transport suggest that he occupied a deferential and, to a degree, detached role in relation to them - more analogous to an independent contractor, available to be retained to carry out a needed job - than any kind of in-house employee taking on a managerial role within some type of hierarchy. Mr. Chen simply cancelled one planned run peremptorily on the basis of a lack of supply, suggesting that it was not Mr. Jawanda's call to make. And, when Mr. Jawanda was being stonewalled by S.W., he spoke in terms of his reputation with those who had asked him to do the transportation, rather than taking on their concerns as something he was invested in at any higher level of ownership or responsibility. [132] It is also quite significant, as raised by the defence, that at what might be described as the crunch time of the transport of MDMA, it was Mr. Garcha who gave instructions and supervised the actual exchange of drugs, whereas Mr. Jawanda expressed being unaware of what was happening. [133] Similarly, his brokering of the domestic kilograms consisted of passing on an order to a supplier, in most cases, Mr. Chen, and having the cost carried by Mr. Chen until S.W. paid. The profit on these regular transactions was small. As I have said, the 10-kilogram deal that he worked out with S.W. was stymied when Mr. Chen who could not supply him with the drugs, requiring him to return the money. [134] So while I am certainly satisfied that Mr. Jawanda was an active arranger of transportation of drugs to and from the U.S. and was capable of accessing kilogram-plus amounts of MDMA for domestic sale, I would characterize him as a resource to be called on for transportation by suppliers, and not a formal part of any organization or playing a high-level role within it. He was also an effective but somewhat improvisational domestic trafficker, when pressed into action for that purpose by his well-heeled undercover associate. [135] With respect to his role in comparison to Mr. Garcha, one must be extremely cautious about applying parity principles to a sentence that has not been imposed yet and that may have arisen from a negotiated plea based on considerations that are not captured in the agreed statement of facts or are otherwise before the court. That said, as a practical matter, to the extent that four years that Mr. Garcha is expected to receive can be considered any sort of benchmark here, I would say that their culpability, at least as reflected in the agreed statement of facts, is palpably different and that Mr. Jawanda's is more serious. While the statement of facts describes Mr. Garcha as being integrally involved in the conspiracy, by inspecting the secret compartment, giving detailed delivery instructions, and directing the delivery itself, the evidence provides a much more extensive portrait of a role being played by Mr. Jawanda in recruiting the agent and S.W., liaising with them and the suppliers over time, in the effort to bring the transport to fruition. [136] Perhaps to state the obvious, whatever each offender contributed to this plan in reality, their sentences are based on what is provable against them. If the agreed statement of facts is an accurate measure of that, Mr. Jawanda emerges on that evidence as the guiding force on the issue of responsibility for transportation. Similarly, while Mr. Garcha emerges as a partner, a sharer of risk, and possibly a supplier at times in relation to the domestic MDMA sales, the evidence available in the agreed statement of facts still accords the primary role to Mr. Jawanda in filling S.W.'s orders, accessing Mr. Chen, and completing the deliveries, as well as working towards producing his own supply. [137] Thus, I think there is a principled basis on which to consider a higher sentence than Mr. Garcha has agreed to. Put another way, that agreed sentence, assuming it accurately reflects the available evidence and is not subject to considerations unknown at this point, does not require a sentence at or lower than that amount based on Mr. Jawanda's admitted actions. [138] The other preliminary determination that must be made is with respect to the seriousness of MDMA as a drug to be exported and trafficked. I do not make light of the emerging medical perspective that it may not be as dangerous a drug as it has been previously characterized, but given the general consensus expressed in the cases cited that a meaningful degree of harm is associated with its production, distribution, and use, and the inescapable signal sent by Parliament by moving it to Schedule I, I think it would take case-specific expert evidence, which we do not have here, to displace that status quo. [139] I consider the aggravating factors, putting aside factors that are part of the definitions of the offence themselves, to be the extended period over which Mr. Jawanda sought to enlist the agent and undercover operators to transport MDMA to the U.S. and bring back cocaine; that cocaine was to be brought into Canada as a feature of the plan as an aggravating feature; his repeated willingness to supply meaningful amounts of MDMA to S.W., and the anticipation that both aspects of his drug involvement would increase in amount and profitability over time; and the attributes of sophistication that his endeavours contained. I agree with Mr. Jawanda's counsel, however, that there is no evidence that he used his legitimate business to veil his drug activities. [140] There are also substantial mitigating factors. I would describe this as a meaningful guilty plea despite the stage at which it was entered. The case was substantially dependent, as I have said, on special investigative techniques, which carry with them the potential for numerous, highly technical, and time-consuming applications and challenges. The decision to forego those opportunities, and the prospect of acquittal that they offer, suggests an acceptance of responsibility that exceeds a mere opportunistic assessment of his chances. [141] While the offence was certainly motivated by profit, which is always an aggravating feature, that is substantially moderated by the fact that he was attempting to pay gambling debts incurred in the course of an addiction. This is a meaningful distinction from a motivation simply to fund a more extravagant lifestyle. [142] He is, for all practical purposes, a first offender. He has taken steps to address that addiction and his alcoholism. He continues to have the support of his adult children. He has maintained a legitimate business that he would be able to return to upon completion of his sentence and play a more productive and positive role in the community. [143] More generally, rather than simply expressing remorse in his statements, he has taken actual steps to place himself in a somewhat different position than he was when he committed the offences. [144] These are serious offences and Mr. Jawanda's moral blameworthiness is quite high. There was a degree of intentional risk-taking involved here. The harm caused by such activity is meaningful and normatively it is conduct that society frowns on, with good reason. [145] The cases relied on by counsel are of varying degrees of applicability. [146] The offender in Ma is comparable to Mr. Jawanda, but the amount of MDMA there was, of course, significantly greater. The roles of the offenders in Mehan and Stark and Montgomery were much greater than I have ascribed to Mr. Jawanda and, without minimizing in any way the seriousness of MDMA, which I have acknowledged, cocaine importation cases have their own higher range, in contrast to the starting point for importing MDMA that was adopted in Ma, even allowing for the increased seriousness attendant upon its move to Schedule I. [147] None of the defence cases except Russell captures the dual aspect of Mr. Jawanda's offending - a fairly elaborate export scheme and substantial domestic sales in kilogram amounts. The Russell decision seems to be getting somewhat old to reflect current sentencing trends, but I do take its effective sentence of five years and two months into account, especially given Mr. Russell's very prominent role in both of those offences. [148] An appropriate sentence here must give strong emphasis to general deterrence and denunciation. Those who contemplate sending controlled substances abroad in return for other illicit and dangerous ones must understand that they can expect substantial penalties if they are caught and convicted. In addition, society must express its collective condemnation of this kind of trade in future harm to the public. The same is true of brokering the sale of such substances within Canada in amounts that can only be intended to facilitate trafficking. [149] On the other hand, Mr. Jawanda has very viable prospects for rehabilitation and those should not be extinguished by the sheer length of his sentences. I also do not think he needs much or any specific deterrence at this point. [150] Balancing these various factors and giving them what I think is their appropriate weight, I sentence Mr. Jawanda to six years on Count 3 and four years concurrent on Count 4. [151] This is a secondary designated offence, and having considered the factors set out in s. 487.051(3) and the reasoning in R. v. Awasis, 2009 BCCA 134, I order that the number of samples be taken from Mr. Jawanda as are reasonably required for the purposes of forensic DNA analysis. [152] MS. LODA: I am sorry -- [153] THE COURT: Yes. [154] MS. LODA: -- My Lord, with respect to the firearms prohibition -- [155] THE COURT: Yes. [156] MS. LODA: -- that is s. 109(1)(c). It is a mandatory 10-year weapons prohibition. [157] THE COURT: Yes, thank you. I impose that. [158] MS. LODA: Thank you, and just lastly, if I could say for the benefit of Mr. Jawanda and Ms. Manhas, there has been property seized during the investigation. The Crown has communicated to all counsel that it intends to deal with the property after the proceedings with respect to the last remaining accused. [159] THE COURT: Thank you. "Schultes J."