A 91原创 man was convicted of a dozen criminal charges related to dealing for a dial-a-dope ring, but acquitted of charges related to guns and ammunition, following a recent trial in New Westminster.

In New Westminster Supreme Court, Judge Baljinder Kaur Girn convicted Kyle James Campagna of multiple counts of trafficking on Oct. 4 - in a ruling that has only recently been released.

The investigation began in 2021, when 91原创 Mounties responded to a fatal overdose death. On the dead woman, investigators found a business card they believed was linked to a local drug operation.

In November and December 2021, two undercover officers called the number on the card. While more than one person answered the phone, many of the subsequent sales involved a man who identified himself as "Teddy." 

Undercover officers later identified this person as Campagna, having met him to purchase drugs. The drugs were mostly a mixture of fentanyl and etizolam, a prescription medication mostly used to treat anxiety or insomnia.

Police surveillance led back from the drug buys to a residential apartment. On Dec. 8, just before 9:30 p.m., RCMP officers with a search warrant arrived at the suite, where they turned up drugs, guns, and cash.

According to Girn's ruling, the police uncovered bulk and pre-packaged drugs with a total value of approximately $129,000, more than $9,700 in cash, drug trafficking paraphernalia such as digital scales and a book recording transactions, and two guns.

An assault rifle was found leaning against the wall in a walk-in closet in one bedroom, and a Ruger pistol and ammunition were found in a shoebox on the bottom shelf of a storage unit.

Investigators also found bundles of the business cards they had found on the dead woman, which had kickstarted the entire investigation.

The drugs were in varied packaging, and included carfentanil, cocaine, methamphetamines, crack, Xanax pills, and more etizolam mixed with fentanyl.

The only defence witness at the trial was Tyler Sanghera, who was one of the men arrested in the suite and who is currently in prison serving a sentence for an unrelated crime, Girn noted.

Sanghera admitted that he was involved in the drug trafficking line operated out of the suite, claiming he worked for a woman named Zoe Stewart, who was the tenant of the suite.

But Sanghera testified that while Campagna was found in the home during the police search, he wasn't really involved with the drug operation.

Sanghera said he had been friends with Stewart through his sister, and was renting one of her bedrooms at the time of the raid. He admitted that he had been working delivering drugs for Stewart.

Campagna met Stewart through Sanghera, and they began seeing one another, Sanghera testified. Campagna also had a girlfriend in Richmond and would stay there during the week, then visit Stewart in 91原创 every few weeks.

Sanghera testified that he was allowed to have friends go with him on his deliveries, and that Campagna would sometimes tag along if he was visiting.

Girn was skeptical of Sanghera's explanation of Campagna's involvement. In fact, she found portions of Sanghera's testimony to be simply "implausible" and said that some of it "defies logic and common sense."

"In my view, the evidence simply does not support that Mr. Campagna was merely a casual observer," Girn wrote in her judgment.

"I am satisfied that he aided in the transaction to traffic controlled substances to [an undercover officer] and that he and Mr. Sanghera were working together in concert with one another ,and I find him to be a party to the offence."

She found Campagna guilty on all five counts involving the sales to undercover officers on that basis.

As far as the drugs found in the suite, Girn noted that Stewart was absent when the police raid arrived, and had left a substantial quantity of drugs essentially out in the open, or in the master bedroom with the door unlocked.

"According to Mr. Sanghera, Ms. Stewart was away for a few days," Girn wrote. "Allowing persons who are not part of the drug operation unfettered access to her valuable drug supply and cash would seem unusual and highly unlikely."

She found that Campagna was in possession for the purpose of trafficking, and found him guilty on a further seven offences.

However, there were still five charges related to the guns and ammunition found in the suite.

On those charges, Girn found it more difficult to say whether or not Campagna knew the guns were there.

There was conflicting evidence over which bedroom the rifle was actually found in, with Girn finding it most likely that it was in the closet of an unused spare room.

The pistol, inside a shoebox, was not in plain view like the drugs were.

"While it is entirely possible that Mr. Campagna knew these items were there, that is not the test I am required to apply," Girn wrote. "I must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the only reasonable inference is the guilt of the accused. I am not convinced it is."

She found him not guilty on all five of the gun-related charges.

A sentencing ruling has not yet been released.