A man who pleaded guilty to drug possession and trafficking in Surrey more than two years ago has been sentenced to six months in jail.
Sanjeel Kumar sold $80 worth of cocaine to an undercover police officer in June 2011. Once arrested, a search revealed he also had 1.8 grams of heroin in his socks, divided into 18 packets of 0.1 grams each. A further $440 worth of cocaine was found on him as well.
During the search, Kumar’s cell phone rang three times and when police intercepted the calls, it was determined they were from customers looking to buy drugs.
At the time of his arrest, according to the sentencing decision posted online Thursday, Kumar was on probation for a prior drug possession offense.
Court documents say Kumar, 22, was not an addict, but a casual user of cocaine.
The Crown was seeking a nine-month prison sentence, while defence wanted a 12-month conditional sentence in lieu of jail time.
Justice Selwyn Romilly said that while such offences are eligible for conditional sentence orders under certain circumstances, he didn’t feel Kumar’s situation fit the bill.
“In this case, there is insufficient evidence in support of an assertion that the accused has addiction problems or that there is a need for treatment,” said Romilly. “The accused’s involvement in the offences was purely for financial gain. In my view, this is an aggravating factor. For such individuals, courts must place primary emphasis on general deterrence.”
