Judge hands fentanyl dealer five-year sentence

Man motivated by `nothing other than greed,' judge says

A mid-level B.C. fentanyl trafficker described by a judge as being motivated by “nothing other than greed” has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Oliver Chau, 28, was arrested following a police investigation that resulted in search warrants being executed at apartments in Kelowna and Lake Country in November 2017.

One of the apartments was used as a safe house where members of a drug trafficking organization, including Chau, lived from time to time, while the other apartment was used as a drug stash house.

From the two apartments, police seized 282 grams of cocaine, 145 grams of drugs that were either fentanyl, a combination of fentanyl and heroin, or a combination of fentanyl and carfentanil, and 53 grams of methamphetamine. The street value of the drugs was $43,000.

Provincial court judge Andrew Tam concluded that Chau, who was earning between $2,000 and $3,000 a week as a mid-level dealer, had knowledge and control of the drugs that were seized and was guilty of five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Other items seized in the drug operation included $7,355 in cash, cellphones, baggies used to package product, mixing equipment and scoresheets.

The judge said the quantity and quality of the drugs made the case extremely serious since our communities have been plagued by the opioid crisis.

“Because of the uncertainty and inconsistency of street drugs, using them is effectively a gamble on one's life. Yet the addictive nature of these substances results in many unable to escape the grip of their dependence.”

Tam said that Chau's motivation was “nothing other than greed” as the accused had no addiction issues of his own.

“There was no extenuating need for this money. Mr. Chau simply wanted to take a shortcut to financial success.”

Chau, who has no prior criminal record and grew up in modest circumstances, had been parachuted into a mid-level trafficking role because he knew one of the dealers who was higher up in the organization.

“In the usual case, someone would begin by dealing at the street level,” said the judge. “But in Mr. Chau's case, he started immediately by being responsible for supplying drugs to lower-level dealers.”

The Crown called for a sentence of six years while Chau's lawyer argued that a sentence of three to four years was more appropriate.

The judge said that general deterrence and denunciation mandated a harsh sentence and imposed a five-year jail term.