Yukon fentanyl trafficking trial ends in dismissal

The case against the first man charged with trafficking fentanyl in Yukon has been dismissed, at the request of the Crown prosecution.

28-year-old Jibril Hosh Jibril was facing two charges of trafficking and possession, after allegedly attempting to ship 535 fentanyl pills via Greyhound bus from Whitehorse to Lethbridge, Alta., in April 2017.

After his arrest on June 30 that year, RCMP said it was the first confirmed seizure of fentanyl in Yukon.

Jibril had pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The Crown called five witnesses over the course of the trial, which began Tuesday and was scheduled for three days in Yukon Territorial Court.

The manager of Greyhound in Whitehorse told the court he couldn't specifically identify Jibril as the man who attempted to ship a package which was ultimately found to contain the fentanyl pills wrapped in a number of small plastic bags. The package also included a pistol holster and a magazine.

Additional testimony revealed police never showed the Greyhound manager a photo lineup to confirm Jibril as a suspect, or asked surrounding businesses for surveillance footage.

With no specific witness or visual identification, the heart of the case rested on fingerprint evidence found on one of the plastic sandwich bags used to hold the pills.

RCMP Reserve Const. Shelly Massey testified that she was brought on by the RCMP to examine the contents of the package, and recovered three fingerprints.

She ran the prints through the RCMP's national system, which came back with a match to a set from a Jibril Hosh Jibril taken by police in Saskatchewan in 2013.

Massey testified that she confirmed the match, and notified Whitehorse RCMP of the name. They were able to obtain a photo of Jibril, which eventually led to his arrest.

'Quite appropriate' to dismiss case

Massey's testimony weakened however, when it was revealed that the fingerprint document from Saskatchewan was never properly disclosed to either the Crown or the defence, and the document was missing critical information about who took the fingerprints.

Defence lawyer David Chow challenged the admissibility of the Saskatchewan fingerprints record, which was ultimately the foundation of most of the Crown's case. Chow also challenged the lack of a formal report outlining how Massey reconfirmed the match once Jibril had been arrested.

On Wednesday afternoon, Crown prosecutor Ben Eberhard told the Yukon court he had tracked down the person who made the prints in Saskatchewan in 2013, and would be able to get a sworn affidavit. Eberhard also told the court Massey had offered to produce an additional report outlining her further analysis.

Eberhard asked the court to allow him to reopen his case.

But in court on Thursday morning, Judge Michael Cozens denied that request, saying the application didn't meet the necessary criteria, and would impact the fairness of the trial.

With that option gone, Eberhard acknowledged he could not build his case without the foundational evidence, and asked the court to dismiss the case.

Cozens said it was "quite appropriate," and dismissed the case.

Jibril's mother and sister made audible sounds of relief in the courtroom. Outside afterwards, Jibril declined to comment but his lawyer said his client was "very satisfied."

The Crown said the judge had done a "good job."