A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced a drug dealer to 53 months in jail for possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and carfentanil for the purposes of trafficking.
Michael William Gallant pleaded guilty to the charges related to events on July 30, 2020 and July 4, 2021, Justice Francesca Marzari said in her Dec. 18 ruling.
The 2020 Indictment
In late July 2020, Gallant, together with a female co-accused, were arrested in their home after a police investigation and surveillance operation into Gallant’s involvement in trafficking drugs from their shared home in Nanaimo.
In the search of the home, police found:
• 23 grams of fentanyl, most of which contained some carfentanil, worth between $2,300-$4,600 depending on how it was sold;
• 72 grams of methamphetamine worth approximately $7,200 on the street; and,
• 9.5 grams of cocaine worth approximately $900-$950 on the street.
Police also found nearly $5,000 in cash, mostly in coins and $20 bills, ammunition (but no firearms), selling score sheets, powdered caffeine, digital scales with drug residue, mixing and packaging paraphernalia, and a debt list.
“I find that the amounts of the drugs and the paraphernalia are consistent with street level trafficking of these drugs,” Marzari said. “The amounts and associated paraphernalia, including mixing, cutting, and weighing equipment establish that Mr. Gallant was also involved in the processing of these drugs for sale at the street level.”
Marzari said the evidence showed Gallant was involved in the cutting and processing of the drugs.
The 2021 indictment
On July 4, 2021, Marzari said, Gallant was pulled over while driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen. He was arrested for possession of stolen property and a search was made of the vehicle, resulting in the seizure of a backpack located in the back seat of that vehicle.
The backpack contained 187 grams of methamphetamine worth between $4,820 and $18,721 depending on how it was sold; 28 grams of fentanyl worth between $2,500 and $5,700 depending on how it was sold; 2.7 grams of cocaine; and 22 hydromorphone pills.
The backpack also contained paraphernalia associated with the trafficking of controlled substances, including two scales, empty dime bags, a pound of caffeine powder, and score sheets.
