Pharmacist who dealt fentanyl sentenced to 14 years in prison
A fentanyl-dealing pharmacist who faked a robbery at his own drug dispensary to cover up an elaborate million-dollar drug scheme has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars and to pay more than $36,000 in restitution for his fraud.
It was the stiffest sentence ever handed down in the country to a pharmacist for fentanyl crimes.
In October 2014 Waseem Shaheen reported a knifepoint robbery at his Rideau Street I.D.A. pharmacy, where he said a masked bandit had made away with more than $25,000 worth of fentanyl patches. A man had indeed entered the pharmacy and the alleged robbery was caught on surveillance video. But it was all a ruse — a coverup to hide that Shaheen himself was trafficking the deadly drug.
His co-conspirator, Mehdi Rostaee, a drug addict he enlisted to do the dirty work, went to robbery detectives investigating the case with an audio recording of the two men planning the fictitious holdup.
Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden, after a trial last fall, found Shaheen guilty of trafficking fentanyl, public mischief for reporting a fake crime to police, and insurance fraud. Wadden handed down the sentence Wednesday, which includes Shaheen’s serving five years each for the mischief and fraud convictions, at the same time as his longer sentence.
Shaheen’s defence lawyer Diane Condo had argued the disgraced pharmacist had already suffered the loss of his job and reputation and couldn’t serve hard time because of a lengthy list of medical issues, including Type 2 diabetes, having a kidney transplant, and experiencing depression and anxiety.
She also argued he was wellregarded by his peers and community. Wadden, however, found it was precisely that position of trust Shaheen violated. The pharmacist had not only operated three pharmacies — all of which he has since sold — while he had these ailments, but he was well enough to plan and commit serious crimes, Wadden said.
Federal prosecutor Kristen Mohr had asked that the judge impose a sentence of 15 years.
In handing down the 14-year sentence, Wadden said Shaheen, a professional entrusted with securing access to dangerous drugs, chose to traffic fentanyl “that is at the forefront of the opioid crisis that is ravaging our cities.”
The drug, which can be prescribed to people in pain, can result in “crippling addiction or death” once on the streets, Wadden said.
Shaheen’s actions endangered Rostaee, the addict he enlisted for help, the public and the police who responded to a fake robbery.
Shaheen, however, is himself not an addict. “His only apparent motivation was greed,” Wadden said.
The pharmacist embarked on a drug-trafficking scheme that saw him push more than 5,000 patches of the highest available strength of fentanyl over the span of two years. That scheme was worth more than $1 million, “profiting on the misery of others,” Wadden said.
Shaheen is expected to face discipline by the Ontario College of Pharmacists. In April 2016, the college put off a disciplinary hearing until after Shaheen’s criminal case was done. He had been suspended by the college from practising as a pharmacist since March 2016, but had been banned by the court from practising since 2015 when his bail conditions were set.
Rostaee, at Shaheen’s trial, claimed on the witness stand that all of the fentanyl he received was for personal use to feed his own addiction. In December 2016, the Mounties raided Rostaee’s Orléans home and seized 19 grams of designer drug furanylfentanyl, which is between 21,000 and 38,000 doses.
Rostaee was charged with multiple drug offences, including importing a controlled substance. He is scheduled to face trial for those charges in September.
In a statement to the Citizen, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which prosecutes all drug crimes, said the aggravating facts of Shaheen’s case were “numerous and egregious.”
“Mr. Shaheen used his specialized knowledge as a pharmacist to hide his activities from other employees, the College of Pharmacists and the police, and when confronted, planned and carried out a fake robbery to cover his illicit activities.
“He is an educated, intelligent person who set out to benefit himself with no regard to the consequences to the community at large. As a pharmacist, his moral blameworthiness could not be higher.”
Staff Sgt. Michael Haarbosch of the Ottawa police robbery unit said investigators, who dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to the case, are pleased with the result.
“I’m hopeful this sentence is a signal of just how seriously these types of crimes will be dealt with in our community,” Haarbosch said.
His only apparent motivation was greed.