Accused was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. The police received an anonymous tip advising them that the occupants of a certain vehicle were trafficking in drugs. The police located the vehicle, stopped it, arrested the occupants (the accused was a passenger), and upon searching the vehicle found cocaine. The defence filed a notice to raise constitutional issues with the Court. Specifically, the defence alleged that the arrest,and search, of the accused on the basis of anonymous tip information alone violated the accused’s section 8 Charter right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure.
Held: Crown withdrew the charge.
Crown Prosecutor conceded that given the constitutional issues raised, there was no reasonable chance of a conviction.