The trial of a woman accused of carrying four kilograms of drugs in her luggage at St. John’s airport was postponed again Tuesday, amid issues of new evidence, destroyed evidence and witnesses who weren’t interviewed by police until a day ago.
Tyneich Allen is anxious for her trial to get underway, defence lawyer Erin Breen told the court, opposing the Crown’s request for a postponement.
Prosecutor Elaine Reid said she was asking for the adjournment to allow her to assess some information that had come to light last Thursday and could result in the Crown deciding not to proceed with the charges against Allen.
“We have two witnesses who have diametrically opposing statements which could affect the reasonable prospect of conviction,” Reid explained. “We are asking for a further opportunity to explore this development and to determine if indeed we can maintain our test of a reasonable prospect of conviction and if the evidence that we’re going to put before this court is reliable and credible.”
Testing on five blocks of a compacted substance later confirmed it contained three kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller said to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine and known to cause overdoses in small amounts. Fentanyl is often made in illegal drug labs and mixed with cocaine, many times without the consumer knowing it.
Allen, 25, is facing charges of possessing cocaine and fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking. She was detained at St. John’s International Airport in March 2018, after the RNC/RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit responded to a report of a suspicious substance found by air transport security officers in a woman’s baggage. Allen was released while police investigated.
Testing on five blocks of a compacted substance later confirmed it contained three kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller said to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine and known to cause overdoses in small amounts. Fentanyl is often made in illegal drug labs and mixed with cocaine, many times without the consumer knowing it.
A warrant was issued for Allen’s arrest and it was executed by police in Toronto in December 2019. Allen was escorted back to St. John’s where she was charged and released from custody to await trial on a $15,000 cash deposit. She attended provincial court in St. John’s this week via video from Toronto.
On Monday, Breen indicated she would be making an application to the court to have Allen’s charges dismissed on the basis of an unreasonable delay. On Tuesday, she said she’ll also be making a Carosella application in light of recent events. Under the Carosella ruling, an accused can apply for charges to be stayed if they can prove their right to make full answer and defence was breached by the unreasonable destruction of evidence.
There hasn’t yet been an indication of what the destroyed evidence was in this case.
Breen told Judge David Orr she was ready to proceed with the trial. She pointed out police had interviewed one of the two witnesses in question just last Friday, the other one on Monday.
“This matter has been outstanding now for a very long time,” Breen said, as the witnesses waited outside the courtroom. “I don’t see how the Crown can justify any reasonable explanation why the two witnesses who are under subpoena were never interviewed by police until going to court.”
The court heard a report was recently disclosed by Canadian Air Transport Security Authority agents.
“It was only on Thursday when something contrary to the report arose that created the wheels in motion that bring us here to make this (request for a postponement) today,” Reid explained.
Orr granted the Crown’s request, noting Allen was not consenting to the postponement and wanted to proceed with her trial. The matter will be called again Nov. 24.
Tara Bradbury reports on justice and the courts in St. John’s.
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