Mohammed Safeem Khan, 27, told an undercover Saskatoon police officer that he “ran the province.” He’s off to jail now.
A provincial court judge ruled an Edmonton man who told an undercover Saskatoon police officer that he “ran the province” before he was busted for trafficking cocaine will serve his sentence in jail instead of the community.
Judge Marilyn Penner said a 20-month jail sentence is necessary to meet the sentencing objectives in Mohammed Safeem Khan’s case.
The 27-year-old had $52,000 in cash when he was arrested on May 4, 2023 after making four cocaine sales to an undercover officer, saying he had access to more.
Khan, who was released on conditions after his arrest, pleaded guilty in April to cocaine trafficking and possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000 between March 2 and May 4, 2023.
A pre-sentence report was ordered to canvass his background “regarding drug abuse and any rehabilitative steps you have taken, or rehabilitative steps that Mr. Khan was prepared to take,” Penner said in her sentencing decision earlier this month.
When he was arrested, Khan had $3,270 in cash in a bag with his identification. A search of his home found $48,780 in cash in his bedroom along with a vacuum sealer, bags, a cash counter and elastic bands. A vehicle search yielded 28 pieces of crack cocaine weighing nearly eight grams.
Jordan Corazza, 29, was also arrested after making two cocaine sales to undercover police, court heard. He pleaded guilty to trafficking and received a conditional sentence — a community jail term — of two years plus a day.
Penner said Corazza’s conditional sentence reflected his limited involvement in a “somewhat sophisticated and sizeable” operation that “appeared quite profitable.”
The federal Crown sought a jail sentence of two years less a day, concurrent on each count; the defence asked for a conditional sentence of the same length.
The sentencing range for cocaine trafficking is between 18 months and four years in custody, but “sentencing is an individualized process,” Penner noted.
She said it’s mitigating that Khan pleaded guilty and doesn’t have a prior criminal record, but he’s taken no steps toward rehabilitation while out of custody.
Khan’s lawyer said Khan started taking painkillers after he was injured in a drive-by shooting where his friend was killed. However, Penner determined there’s no indication he had a substance use disorder.
She said Khan told a pre-sentence report writer that he sold drugs for “easy money.”
“There’s no indication that his mental health diagnoses or issues played a role in his offending. Making money off the addicted and vulnerable members of our community is gravely concerning.
Leaving you to serve a sentence in the community, in my view, puts the community at risk.”
Khan said if he got a conditional sentence he would return to Edmonton to be closer to his mother and children. Penner recalled that Khan told court he was struggling with debts and a newborn and was not good at asking for help, “noting that his mother was such a hard worker.”
“You could learn lessons from your mother as undoubtedly she’s sacrificed a great deal in order for you to have a good life in Canada. I hope that you’ll be able to demonstrate to her, and also to your children, that you can live a good life here,” Penner said.
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