New trial ordered for man jailed after drug bust

A man who was sentenced to two years in prison for his alleged part in an Island-based drug trafficking operation has won his appeal of that conviction.

A new trial has been ordered for Malek Sahouli, 26. He was originally convicted of conspiracy to traffic marijuana after being arrested in 2014 along with eight other people under Project Lurid, a 20-month investigation into drug trafficking in eastern Canada, led by Island RCMP.

Judges in the P.E.I. Court of Appeal issued a finding Thursday that search warrants obtained by RCMP violated Sahouli's charter rights.

The judges concluded that police at the time had insufficient evidence to obtain the warrants.

"A hunch, a notion or a feeling will not suffice," wrote Justice John K. Mitchell in the unanimous decision by the panel of three judges.

Island RCMP seized marijuana, other drugs and $70,000 cash as a result of Project Lurid. It involved police agencies in Quebec, New Brunswick and P.E.I, including undercover officers who played rounds of golf with their suspects on P.E.I. as part of the investigation.

Sahouli pleaded not guilty at trial in 2016, and tried to have the search warrants thrown out at that time. The trial judge decided to let them stand. The appeal court ruled that was a mistake on the judge's part.

'Reasonable suspicion must exist' 

Police obtained warrants to track data as part of their investigation into suspected drug trafficking, according to the written appeal court decision. Based on information from those warrants, police then obtained permission for a wire tap.

According to that written decision, when police arrested Sahouli they found a large quantity of marijuana. But the appeal court judges were adamant that hindsight is no justification.

"The fruits of a search can never be used, ex post facto, to justify the search," wrote Mitchell. "Reasonable suspicion must exist prior."

The appeal court decision did not specify what evidence police had against Sahouli when they obtained the warrants. The court said the admissibility of that evidence will be determined at Sahouli's new trial. 

No date has been set for the new trial.

Malek Sahouli has now changed his name to Adam Flynn, according to the appeal court.

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