Son of former B.C. MLA pleads guilty to attempted acetyl fentanyl possession

Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted a parcel en route to Calgary address, which led to the arrest of Kasimir Tyabji-Sandana.

Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted a parcel en route to Calgary address

Lucie Edwardson · CBC ·
Kasimir Tyabji-Sandana will serve a conditional sentence of two years, less a day, for attempting to possess acetyl fentanyl. (CBC )

The son of a former B.C. MLA has pleaded guilty to attempting to possess acetyl fentanyl, which is a less potent version of fentanyl.

Kasimir Tyabji-Sandana of Calgary made a brief appearance on Monday to the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench and entered the plea.

The investigation began on July 14, 2015, when a border agent at the Vancouver International Mail Centre intercepted a parcel declared as a muffler.

The agent then discovered a white powder suspected to be fentanyl and sent it to a lab for confirmation.

Thrown from balcony

On July 22, 2015, an undercover police officer posed as a Canada Post employee and delivered the package to Tyabji-Sandana, who accepted it.

The drug was removed for safety reasons and replaced with an inert substance before delivery, according to an agreed statement of facts read out in court.

The man then subsequently opened the package. He threw it from the balcony of the residence as the Calgary Police Service's tactical team executed a search warrant on the residence.

Police said there was 122 grams of fentanyl was seized, with an estimated value of $348,000.

'Dark period'

Tyabji-Sandana will serve a two-year, less a day, conditional sentence in B.C. He is currently attending the University of British Columbia, studying international relations. 

The first eight months of his sentence will be served as house arrest, followed by eight months with a curfew and the last five months as probation. 

Tyabji-Sandana did not speak in court.

Crown prosecutor Nick Devlin said the incident occurred during a "dark period" in the man's life, when he was 27. Devlin said he is now ashamed of the embarrassment he's caused himself and his family.

Tyabji-Sandana's two sisters and his mother, former B.C. MLA Judi Tyabji, were in court to support him.


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    About the Author

    Lucie Edwardson

    Journalist

    Lucie Edwardson is a reporter with CBC Calgary. Lucie most recently headed a pop-up bureau in Lethbridge, Alberta. Her experience includes newspaper, online, TV and radio. Follow her on Twitter @LucieEdwardson