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A Moncton business owner was fined on Thursday, after admitting his business continued to illegally sell cannabis products even after being warned repeatedly not to by the province.
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“That shows a blatant disregard for the laws of this province,” provincial court Judge Luc Labonté said.
Several accused parties were in court to plead to charges of illegally having cannabis products to sell, including Keeza Holdings Inc., represented by owner Thomas Kevin Everill, 58, as well as Wanda Charmaine Burgoyne, 55, of Lakeville, Christina Amanda Mitton, 43, of Moncton, and Michael Allan Everill, 24, of Shediac.
Pylyp Filippov, 25, of Moncton, was also charged but was not in court. A warrant was issued for him when he failed to appear last week.
The case was resolved Thursday when four charges were laid against the elder Everill, alleging four counts of illegally possessing cannabis to sell. Two charges related to a Moncton store while another two related to a Riverview store. Everill pleaded guilty to all charges and the Crown withdrew against Keeza and the other accused.
Prosecutor Renee Roy told the court the Department of Justice and Public Safety launched an investigation after receiving information in May 2023 that a Queen-E Smoke and Vape Outlet in Moncton at 1631 Mountain Rd. was preparing to open and would be illegally selling cannabis. They visited the property and saw a sign that had cannabis leaves on it with a message that only those over 19 could shop there.
Roy said the store was to open June 1, 2023, but was not authorized to sell cannabis. On June 12, peace officers delivered a letter to Everill, explaining to him that it’s illegal to sell cannabis without authorization and outlining the consequences if he does so. The communication from the government department pertained to that location and also a Queen-E Smoke Shop at 540 Pinewood Rd. in Riverview.
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An undercover officer was sent into the stores in November and confirmed staff were selling cannabis products to people, so another letter was delivered to Everill on March 22 repeating the warning that what he was doing was illegal. The prosecutor said an undercover officer visited the stores five days later and cannabis was still being sold.
On April 4, search warrants were executed at the two shops and cannabis products were seized, including vapes, joints, edibles and more. Roy said a month later the stores were still active so they raided them again, executing warrants on May 9 and seizing more cannabis products.
The prosecutor said the resolution saw the charges withdrawn against the company and laid against Everill because the maximum fine for a business is $100,000 per offence, while the maximum fine for an individual is $5,000 per offence. Roy said Everill indicated he wouldn’t be able to pay the higher corporate fines, so as part of the resolution the Crown charged him instead and he pleaded guilty to four charges relating to the two stores and two search dates.
Roy asked for the maximum fines because the Department of Justice and Public Safety gave him so many opportunities to stop but he refused. The judge imposed the $20,000 fine and ordered the forfeiture of all the seized products.
Everill, who made no comment to the court during the hearing, was given a year to pay. The smoke shops were closed after the seizures.
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