In sentencing a Toronto man who pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine, a Windsor, Ont. judge told him to “keep your drugs in Toronto.”
Justice Micheline Rawlins of the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced 24-year-old Ahmed Ahmed to 30 days of house arrest and two years’ probation.
She also banished him from Essex County during that time.
Windsor police stopped Ahmed, Ibraham James, and Adrian McCurvin in a high drug traffic area on Aug. 4, 2010. Following a search, the officers found 2.3 grams of crack cocaine in their rental car and an additional 3.9 grams in Ahmed’s rectum.
Ahmed was originally charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, but he pleaded guilty to simple possession. His friends’ charges were withdrawn in exchange for his guilty plea.
The judge expressed concern about people bringing drugs to Windsor, especially with Detroit right next door.
“Detroit makes Toronto look like Toronto the Good,” said Rawlins. “We don’t need to import people from other jurisdictions to bring drugs to Windsor. We have plenty coming across the border. Drugs, guns, we have it up to here.”
She also emphasized the meaning of house arrest, saying if the police show up at Ahmed’s house to check on him, he better be there. "It's what I call jail at home," she said.
Rawlins reiterated her point by telling Ahmed to ask himself the following question if a friend invites him out for coffee: “If I were in jail would I be able to go to his house for coffee?”
Ahmed has a 26-year-old sister living in Essex County who Rawlins said could visit him in Toronto.
"And she won't have cocaine up her butt," she added.
