A B.C. man accused of selling fentanyl-laced cocaine has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison.
Court heard Japmanjot Grewal travelled to Saskatoon in March 2018 with two other B.C. men intending to sell cocaine.
However the batch of drugs he sold was mixed with fentanyl, leading to four deaths and three hospitalizations.
It forced police to send out a notice regarding a deadly batch of drugs.
Grewal pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and one count of criminal negligence causing death.
“He’s ashamed. He’s ashamed of the damage that he’s done to his family. He’s ashamed of the damage that he’s done to this community,” defence lawyer Eleanor Funk said.
When police searched the Lakewood home Grewal and his two associates were using as a stash house, officers found bags of cocaine, fentanyl and heroin.
“It’s highly likely that what happened is when you use the same cups, bowls, measuring spoons, whatever, to package your drugs or scales,” Crown prosecutor Katharine Gried said.
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“If you’ve used one for fentanyl, and then you put another drug on it, the fentanyl is going to contaminate the drug,”
While handing down the sentence, Justice Richard Danyluk stated one of the most concerning parts of this case is the men were notified something was wrong with the drugs by their customers, but they continued to sell it.
Grewal has spent more than two years in custody, which accounts for three years and 15 days of time served and accounts for the sentence of the criminal negligence causing death count.
He will spend another three months behind bars which accounts for the remaining charges, which each equalled three months, but will be served concurrently.
Grewal’s time in prison will be followed by a three-year probation period.
The other two B.C. men who participated in the operation were sentenced last month.
Azam Kabani received a two-year sentence which he will serve in the community and Shervin Beehary received an additional six-month sentence behind bars after his time served in custody.
Grewal was intended to receice his sentence on the same day as his co-accused, but that was pushed back after he failed to show up to his court appearance.
His lawyer said he took a drug that wasn’t prescribed by a doctor and he was on the brink of what apperaed to be a drug addiction and subsequently spent four days in hospital.
Part of Grewal’s probation includes seeking addictions treatment.
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