Guilty verdict in drug smuggling case
By Delon Shurtz on March 24, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDDshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
When Bradley Michael Gaudrault arrived at the Carway border south of Cardston three years ago, border officers became suspicious.
Gaudrault was referred for a secondary inspection, and it wasn’t long before officers discovered cocaine hidden in a secret compartment. The Calgary man was charged with drug smuggling and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, and Tuesday, following a week-long trial in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench, a jury found him guilty of both charges.
The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for less than three hours before they reached their verdict. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 13 in a Calgary courtroom.
The trial, which was held at the Yates Memorial Centre to ensure social distancing for jurors and court officials, heard evidence from six Crown witnesses, including three officers with the Canada Border Services Agency.
Gaudrault was arrested and charged March 17, 2018 after he was caught with 31 bricks of cocaine. That amount, border officials announced following Gaudrault’s arrest, was the largest seizure of drugs to date at the Carway Port of Entry, and worth between $1.4 million and $3.1 million, or more, depending on how it was mixed, cut and sold.
Border officers examined Gaudrault’s SUV and discovered a steel compartment under a panel. The compartment was locked from the inside and connected to the vehicle’s electrical system, and could only be opened by pressing a sequence of buttons on the vehicle’s console.
Officers drilled through the compartment and discovered white powder inside. A search of the vehicle revealed the one-kg bricks of cocaine,
Calgary lawyer Sean Fagan did not call any evidence and did not put Gaudrault on the stand, but said after the trial he believed the Crown failed to prove his client knew there were drugs in the vehicle. He also pointed out investigators took Gaudrault’s fingerprints and checked for fingerprints on the drugs and vehicle, but no evidence that the prints matched was presented during the trial.
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