Regina man on trial for fentanyl, meth trafficking offences

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Aldrin John Manalaysay Pascua was charged alongside three others in relation to a drug bust that police say netted large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

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In 2021, Saskatchewan overdose deaths were surging toward a new high-water mark.

The province’s chief coroner would later say that fentanyl was present in more than two-thirds of the record-setting 408 drug toxicity deaths confirmed for 2021. During the course of that year, Regina police were looking for ways to stem the flow of drugs into the city.

As part of that work, they were watching a number of people suspected of trafficking.

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Among them was a man named Aldrin John Manalaysay Pascua. Then age 31, he would be one of multiple people arrested and charged in relation to a publicized July 25, 2021 drug bust in which police said they seized significant quantities of illegal substances, including fentanyl.

But unlike Gerald Domondon, who was arrested alongside him, Pascua did not plead guilty.

On Monday, nearly three-and-a-half years later, Pascua’s trial began. He stood in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench and entered pleas of not guilty to the following charges: possession of fentanyl on May 28, 2021, possession of fentanyl on July 25, 2021, and possession of methamphetamine on July 25, 2021 — all for the purpose of trafficking.

The Crown’s first witness was Kara Marks, who was a constable with the Regina Police Service (RPS) at the relevant time and acted as the primary investigator in the case involving Pascua. She told court that police began receiving information about Pascua “trafficking in controlled substances” sometime in late 2020.

Under questions from federal prosecutor Robin Neufeld, Marks said police obtained authorizations to use phone tracking technology and “data transmission recorders.”

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Court heard that the investigation led police to surveil a garage behind a home in Regina’s Harbour Landing community. Police believed Pascua and his associates were operating out of the garage.

Surveillance was conducted on the garage and, on May 28, 2021, Marks made the decision to conduct enforcement.

A warrant was authorized to search the garage.

“Unfortunately, due to the knowledge that there was potential firearms associated to this group and in that garage, and the location in very close proximity to an elementary school, we were unable to execute a search warrant when I wanted to,” the officer testified.

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This resulted in police waiting until kids went back into school after lunch to search the garage. “In the meantime,” Pascua was observed leaving the garage.

Although there was no such reference in court Monday, it was stated at Domondon’s March 2024 sentencing that around 400 grams of fentanyl was found in a toolbox in the garage.

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While Pascua wasn’t arrested on May 28, court heard that police maintained surveillance.

Under questions from defence lawyer Roch Dupont, Marks told court that RPS was able to confirm with the help of Calgary police that another suspect, Catherine Rose Hall, was in the Alberta city. That’s also where phone tracking data showed Pascua to be.

Crown witness Amber Hawker, who was an RPS constable with the Crime Reduction Team at the relevant time, told court that police set up north of Regina on Highway 11 to intercept two vehicles — a grey Mercedes-Benz and a brown Ford F150.

According to Marks, Hall and another suspect, Leonides Nazareth Alviola, were arrested when the Mercedes-Benz was stopped on the highway.

Hawker told court that police located the Ford pickup at the casino. Pascua and Domondon were arrested in a traffic stop after they left the casino, got into the truck and drove off, she testified.

Hawker, who acted as the exhibit officer related to the vehicle searches, told Neufeld that drugs including fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in the Mercedes-Benz and “several different kinds of narcotics” were found in the truck.

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She later stated that a brick of fentanyl found in the car weighed 541.77 grams, and a plastic container found in the car’s trunk contained 932.23 grams of methamphetamine. She also said 1.26 grams of methamphetamine were found in the car’s glove box.

In the Ford truck, the officer said 69 grams of methamphetamine were found in a bag, and just over eight more grams were found in the centre console.

Pascua is the only one of the four charged whose matters have not been resolved. Domondon and Alviola were sentenced for related offences and charges against Hall were stayed, as she is now deceased.

Three days have been scheduled for the trial, which is expected to continue Tuesday.

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