THE B.C. Court of Appeal has overturned the conviction of Rajkumar Subramaniam, who had been found guilty by a B.C. Supreme Court jury in October 2019 of smuggling 14.79 kilograms of methamphetamine across the Canada-U.S. border in July 2014. The court ordered a new trial.
The jury heard that on July 1, 2014, Subramaniam attempted to cross the Pacific Highway border crossing from the U.S. into B.C. in a Mitsubishi Montero. A search of his vehicle, Canada Border Services Agency officers found hidden wiring and a device called a “DroneMobile” concealed in the dashboard, which allowed for GPS tracking of the Montero and remote unlocking of its doors.
When the officers ultimately gained access to the compartment, they found 33 packages wrapped in brown tape. Subramaniam was arrested and the packages, a BlackBerry device, paystubs, and receipts, were seized. The packages were later confirmed to contain 14.79 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an approximate wholesale value of $375,000 or a street value of $1.5 million.
At the trial, both the Crown and the defence agreed that the key issue was whether Subramaniam knew of the secret compartment and that it contained a controlled substance.
Subramaniam testified that he had no knowledge of the DroneMobile device, the secret compartment where the drugs were located, or the methamphetamine. In closing submissions, the defence argued that the appellant had unwittingly trafficked methamphetamine across the border, as he had no knowledge of the drugs and did not notice anything unusual about the vehicle.
The defence theory was that the real individuals involved in the drug scheme were the appellant’s brother and two of the brother’s alleged associates, and that these individuals used the DroneMobile device to facilitate trafficking.
In support of this theory, the defence relied on evidence of the timing of Subramaniam’s crossing into the U.S. and the details of his purchase of the Montero. The jury was provided with both oral and written instructions.
The jury found Subramaniam guilty of the drug offences and the B.C. Supreme Court judge handed him an eight-year jail term.
A three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal found that the judge’s instructions to the jury were confusing.
Justice Patrice Abrioux said: “There was a reasonable likelihood that the jury may have misapprehended the standard of proof by concluding that a proven fact, for example, the appellant’s knowledge regarding the secret compartment and what it contained, was a factual issue, to be established on a balance of probabilities as opposed to an essential element of the offence to be proven by the Crown beyond a reasonable doubt.”
She added: “To put the matter another way, in my view there was a realistic possibility that, having been instructed that it must find facts if they were probably true, the jury could have grounded their conviction on the basis that the Crown had established knowledge based on a standard of probably true facts. This would be contrary to the correct approach whereby, having considered all of the evidence—including that which they did not believe—the jury was satisfied that the Crown had proven the essential elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The other two justices agreed with Abrioux.
Full ruling: https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/ca/22/01/2022BCCA0141.htm
