Man 'doing a favor' busted with 13kg Cocaine - Judge not impressed

Yen Shi Albert Tio claimed it was because of a favor to a drug-dealer friend that he ended up at the apartment/drug lab, but the judge wasn't buying it. On July 14, 2015, RCMP arrested Tio after he showed up at the apartment at 6133 Buswell. Cops found cutting agents and materials to make crack cocaine and mixing bowls, a blender, ventilating equipment and scales.

There were seven respirators in the apartment with Tio’s DNA on six of them. The suite had no bed and held two tents, one ventilating to pipes out the window, with drying racks and a hydraulic press fitted to press kilo bricks of cut cocaine. Tio’s lawyer said his client had explanations for everything.

Tio was at the apartment twice on the day he was arrested, and had keys to it. The judge wasn't buying it and said the evidence “strongly” suggested he had manually handled the cocaine and that was enough for the Crown's case. Tio’s sentencing is set for March 14 where he faces an extended custodial sentence.