Proceedings got underway in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John’s Monday morning for two men charged two years ago in connection with a suitcase full of marijuana.
Curtis Alexander Wasylow, 27, of Vancouver, and Matthew Bernard McGuire, 29, of Mount Pearl sat next to each other in the dock as the court dealt with a charter application filed by their defence lawyers, Bob Buckingham and Erin Breen, respectively. A trial could follow, depending on the outcome of these proceedings.
Wasylow, McGuire and a third man, 29-year-old Kelly Aaron Poulin of Maple Ridge, B.C., were arrested and charged with single counts of trafficking marijuana and possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking in May 2015.
Members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), an investigative police unit consisting of RCMP and RNC officers, arrested the men after a search of a St. John’s hotel room and a vehicle turned up 62 pounds of marijuana.
The men were released shortly afterward on strict conditions and cash deposits: $10,000 each for Wasylow and Poulin, and $7,000 for McGuire.
Poulin pleaded guilty to the charges, which were then transferred to B.C. last year.
*This article has been corrected.