A judge in Nova Scotia has decided that the majority of the $133,950 in cash confiscated by authorities from an SUV after a 2021 raid on an illegal marijuana cultivation operation near an Eastern Shore lobster business should be given back to the seafood broker who was convicted in the case.
On Monday, Judge Brad Sarson, sitting in provincial court in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, stated that the prosecution had not sufficiently demonstrated that Christian Strickland, aged 40, had intentions to use the money for establishing the marijuana grow-op or that it derived from cannabis sales.
Nonetheless, the judge ruled that a portion of the money, amounting to $26,755.14, should be forfeited as “offence-related property” connected to a separate investigation into a car insurance fraud scheme uncovered by law enforcement.
Strickland was one of over a dozen individuals apprehended in an RCMP probe into drug trafficking in the Halifax region, which heavily relied on surveillance and intercepted communications, resulting in numerous arrests. Although some of the arrested individuals faced charges related to cocaine trafficking, Strickland was specifically accused of cannabis and fraud-related offenses.
The cash was seized from a safe in the vehicle driven by Strickland’s mother on January 6, 2021, after she departed from her son’s residence in Bedford, Nova Scotia, following the crackdown on the grow-op in Popes Harbour, near Strickland’s lobster facility.
Following Strickland’s conviction earlier this year for cannabis, fraud, and public mischief offenses, the prosecution sought the forfeiture of the money. Strickland is currently serving an 18-month conditional sentence.
The defense contended that assuming the cash in the safe was intended for purchasing equipment for the marijuana operation was too speculative, as there was no evidence of any proceeds from cannabis sales. Sarson acknowledged the defense’s argument that Strickland, with a prior drug-related record, might have been aware of law enforcement practices regarding seizing cash during searches and leaving the judicial system to handle its disposition.
While the judge found the circumstances surrounding Strickland’s mother picking up the money suspicious, he recognized that Strickland operated a legitimate seafood business, which primarily dealt in cash transactions.
Although Sarson acknowledged that approximately $26,000 of the money stemmed from an insurance fraud scheme involving Strickland’s false claim of his BMW being vandalized, he ordered its forfeiture, despite Strickland already making full restitution.
The judge concluded that beyond the offenses linked to the vehicle and the grow-op, there was no evidence implicating Strickland in other criminal activities. He expressed doubts regarding the remaining cash being associated with criminality.
Strickland’s legal representative, Pat MacEwen, declined to comment outside the courtroom, while the prosecutor, Len MacKay, believed the judge’s decision was reasonable under the circumstances.
