Police were justified in using a drug dealer's phone to orchestrate the arrest of a suspect in a drug trafficking operation without first getting a warrant due to the urgency of the situation, Canada's top court ruled Friday in dismissing an Ontario man's appeal.
Dwayne Alexander Campbell sought to have his drug trafficking conviction overturned, arguing police in Guelph, Ont., violated his Charter right to be free from unreasonable search or seizure in the 2017 incident.
Police seized the cellphone of a known drug dealer and noticed four incoming text messages on its lock screen that appeared to be about a suspected transaction for heroin, likely laced with deadly fentanyl.