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COURT DOCUMENT<\/p>\n
Former Winnipeg Police Service constable Elston Bostock appeared to know drug trafficker Mohamed Ali, and police were concerned Project Roasted would be undermined by the corrupt officer, who is now in prison.<\/p>\n
On the same day, Ahmed Dini was arrested at his River Avenue suite, where investigators found more than 200 rocks of crack cocaine.<\/p>\n
Months later, investigators obtained a search warrant for data contained on Ali\u2019s phone, after detectives \u201cdeveloped concerns that the investigation had been compromised,\u201d when they learned then-veteran police constable Elston Bostock appeared to be associated with Ali and members of his circle, Crown prosecutor Ari Millo said in sentencing submissions earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Bostock was sent to prison for seven years in January, after he pleaded guilty to a laundry list of corruption offences, including that he gave police information to people outside the force.<\/p>\n
The June 2024 warrant yielded photographs of Bostock, who was at the time being investigated by professional standards officers for corruption, with criminal associates. Police also discovered text messages between Ali and others referencing Bostock looking up licence plates.<\/p>\n
But three recent court hearings suggest Project Roasted was not stymied by Bostock\u2019s corruption, despite the concerns of investigators.<\/p>\n
Ali, deemed a high-level trafficker in court, was the initial target of the police operation, which began in April 2023.<\/p>\n
At a June hearing in front of Court of King\u2019s Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg, Ali pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for the purposes of trafficking between October 2023 and February 2024. He is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison early next year.<\/p>\n
Federal Crown prosecutor Jean-Pierre Deniset told court that police, armed with warrants, conducted repeated covert entries at Ali\u2019s home in Niverville, where they found cocaine, cutting agents, cash and various drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Ali directed Khan to move large amounts of cocaine as a high-level courier.<\/p>\n
Khan was sentenced to seven years by provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie in May after pleading guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking and attempting to obstruct justice in a separate case.<\/p>\n
The 49-year-old father once owned Moonlight Lounge on Osborne Street and had no criminal record prior to getting involved with drug traffickers, which his lawyer Brett Gladstone said was related to debts and financial challenges.<\/p>\n
Federal Crown prosecutor Raegan Rankin said it was \u201cbaffling\u201d Khan would get involved in drugs at his age and place in life.<\/p>\n
The judge speculated that the nightclub business may have brought him into contact with the criminal underworld.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not lost on me, what you were doing as a business owner at the time, working in a nightclub that only operates from 10 o\u2019clock til 2 a.m.-ish, and in that job \u2014 I don\u2019t know if this is where you made these acquaintances \u2014 but it\u2019s probably not unusual, from where I sit, that people who are involved in nightclubs come across people who are involved in other things,\u201d McKenzie said.<\/p>\n
Khan admitted he picked up a load of 20 kilograms of cocaine and delivered some of it before police arrested him outside Stella\u2019s.<\/p>\n
He also admitted he misled police after a man was shot after hours in his nightclub in February last year, which prevented the victim from receiving prompt medical care.<\/p>\n
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In August last year, Dini pleaded guilty to a drug offence and was given a two-year conditional sentence, followed by two years of supervised probation, on a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence.<\/p>\n
Dini, in his mid-40s, was recently divorced and struggling financially, after a long career working with people with disabilities, among other jobs. A father of eight, he accepted an offer from a friend to stash crack cocaine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really puzzled why, despite financial circumstances, the fact that you, a father of eight children, would involve yourself in something like this. The repercussions even on your family alone are significant,\u201d provincial court Judge Lisa Labossiere told Dini.<\/p>\n
His lawyer said Dini has regretted his decision every day since.<\/p>\n
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Erik Pindera Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.\u00a0 Read more about Erik<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Reporter
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