Pharmacist faked robbery to cover up fentanyl trafficking
An Ottawa pharmacist who faked a robbery at his own drugstore to
cover up the “mountains” of fentanyl patches he trafficked has been
found guilty of his crimes, in what appears to be the city’s first case
of narcotics trafficking in the profession and the latest effort to deal
with a growing opioid crisis.
The police case against Waseem Shaheen began in October 2014 when he reported a knifepoint robbery at his Rideau Street I.D.A. pharmacy. The bandit had allegedly made away with more than $25,000 worth of fentanyl patches.
When a patrol cop arrived, Shaheen couldn’t describe the robber, had no clue about a getaway car and, shaken, directed police to surveillance video — video that a federal prosecutor would later contend was nothing more than a staged piece of theatre between two co-conspirators.
The investigation by detectives in the Ottawa police robbery unit would eventually stall since most of their cases rely on suspect identification. In this case, the robber was well masked and couldn’t be identified. But, a month after the robbery, pharmacy records showed investigators that Shaheen had filled what were clearly fake prescriptions for more than 1,500 fentanyl patches in the name of one man — Mehdi Rostaee.
Police arrested Rostaee for prescription fraud. Then came the audio recording.
Two days before the alleged Rideau pharmacy robbery, Shaheen and Rostaee met at a McDonald’s where Rostaee covertly recorded the conversation on his cellphone. What police heard on the audio recording, given to them in March 2015 by Rostaee flipping on his co-conspirator, spelled out more than just a phoney robbery — it was a plan to get away with trafficking narcotics.
Shaheen’s troubles had begun in 2014 when his employees started noticing that the pharmacy was ordering more fentanyl than it had prescriptions. In 2013 and 2014, the pharmacy had purchased 6,705 fentanyl patches in 100-microgram doses and sold fewer than half. The rest were unaccounted for.
An employee received a large shipment of fentanyl ordered by Shaheen. She remarked that it was more than the pharmacy needed, put the patches away, and then was startled the next day when the stock of the lethal drug had disappeared without a trace.
Finally, a third employee looked at the inventory and saw just how much fentanyl was going to Rostaee’s prescriptions. That whistleblower alerted the Ontario College of Pharmacists about what appeared to be criminal activity by Shaheen.
Shaheen knew that he had to cover up the numbers, so he asked to meet Rostaee and suggested faking a robbery, with Rostaee behind the knife, to claim the additional patches had been stolen. Shaheen choreographed every detail, to what the “robber” would do and what he would do in response.
Shaheen told Rostaee to swear while he was acting out the robbery and that the terrified pharmacist “would give (the robber) everything in the safe.”
Shaheen warned Rostaee to disguise himself and even told him to change his gait.
“You have to cover 100 per cent because once they see the camera maybe somebody recognize you? Somebody will,” the pharmacist said.
Shaheen would give Rostaee time to flee before calling police and would tell police that he was just too frightened to call immediately. The pair agreed that the robbery would happen in two days at 2 p.m. on a Sunday, when there would be no customers at the drugstore. On Oct. 26, 2014, the robbery occurred almost exactly as planned.
Shaheen testified in his own defence at trial this fall. He claimed that in an unrecorded part of the conversation he had told Rostaee that he had changed his mind and they weren’t going through with the plan. He also testified that he simply kept lousy records and couldn’t keep track of the fentanyl.
Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden found Shaheen’s version of events to be a “self-serving web of lies.”
Wadden found the disgraced pharmacist guilty of trafficking fentanyl, public mischief for reporting a fake crime to police and insurance fraud. Shaheen had also been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery but the conspiracy was to commit a fake robbery, Wadden said, before acquitting Shaheen on that charge.
At the time of his arrest in June 2015, Shaheen owned and operated three pharmacies — the I.D.A. on Rideau and two others in Bells Corners and on St. Laurent Boulevard. He sold them all a month later.
Shaheen is expected to face discipline by the Ontario College of Pharmacists. Last April, the college put off any disciplinary hearing until after the criminal case against Shaheen was done. He had been suspended by the college from practising as a pharmacist since March 2016, but has been banned by the court from practising since 2015 when his bail conditions were set.
The college also alleges that Shaheen failed to complete an ethics-based workshop when ordered to after his arrest.
Mehdi Rostaee claimed on the witness stand that all of the fentanyl he received was for personal use to feed his own addiction. Outstanding charges laid by the RCMP also bring that into question.
In December 2016, the Mounties raided Rostaee’s Orléans home and seized 19 grams of designer drug furanylfetanyl, which is between 21,000 and 38,000 doses.
Rostaee was arrested and charged with multiple drug offences, including importing a controlled substance, in a joint probe with border authorities. He has yet to face those allegations.
Shaheen has yet to be sentenced.
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
The police case against Waseem Shaheen began in October 2014 when he reported a knifepoint robbery at his Rideau Street I.D.A. pharmacy. The bandit had allegedly made away with more than $25,000 worth of fentanyl patches.
When a patrol cop arrived, Shaheen couldn’t describe the robber, had no clue about a getaway car and, shaken, directed police to surveillance video — video that a federal prosecutor would later contend was nothing more than a staged piece of theatre between two co-conspirators.
The investigation by detectives in the Ottawa police robbery unit would eventually stall since most of their cases rely on suspect identification. In this case, the robber was well masked and couldn’t be identified. But, a month after the robbery, pharmacy records showed investigators that Shaheen had filled what were clearly fake prescriptions for more than 1,500 fentanyl patches in the name of one man — Mehdi Rostaee.
Police arrested Rostaee for prescription fraud. Then came the audio recording.
Two days before the alleged Rideau pharmacy robbery, Shaheen and Rostaee met at a McDonald’s where Rostaee covertly recorded the conversation on his cellphone. What police heard on the audio recording, given to them in March 2015 by Rostaee flipping on his co-conspirator, spelled out more than just a phoney robbery — it was a plan to get away with trafficking narcotics.
Shaheen’s troubles had begun in 2014 when his employees started noticing that the pharmacy was ordering more fentanyl than it had prescriptions. In 2013 and 2014, the pharmacy had purchased 6,705 fentanyl patches in 100-microgram doses and sold fewer than half. The rest were unaccounted for.
An employee received a large shipment of fentanyl ordered by Shaheen. She remarked that it was more than the pharmacy needed, put the patches away, and then was startled the next day when the stock of the lethal drug had disappeared without a trace.
Finally, a third employee looked at the inventory and saw just how much fentanyl was going to Rostaee’s prescriptions. That whistleblower alerted the Ontario College of Pharmacists about what appeared to be criminal activity by Shaheen.
Shaheen knew that he had to cover up the numbers, so he asked to meet Rostaee and suggested faking a robbery, with Rostaee behind the knife, to claim the additional patches had been stolen. Shaheen choreographed every detail, to what the “robber” would do and what he would do in response.
Shaheen told Rostaee to swear while he was acting out the robbery and that the terrified pharmacist “would give (the robber) everything in the safe.”
Shaheen warned Rostaee to disguise himself and even told him to change his gait.
“You have to cover 100 per cent because once they see the camera maybe somebody recognize you? Somebody will,” the pharmacist said.
Shaheen would give Rostaee time to flee before calling police and would tell police that he was just too frightened to call immediately. The pair agreed that the robbery would happen in two days at 2 p.m. on a Sunday, when there would be no customers at the drugstore. On Oct. 26, 2014, the robbery occurred almost exactly as planned.
Shaheen testified in his own defence at trial this fall. He claimed that in an unrecorded part of the conversation he had told Rostaee that he had changed his mind and they weren’t going through with the plan. He also testified that he simply kept lousy records and couldn’t keep track of the fentanyl.
Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden found Shaheen’s version of events to be a “self-serving web of lies.”
Wadden found the disgraced pharmacist guilty of trafficking fentanyl, public mischief for reporting a fake crime to police and insurance fraud. Shaheen had also been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery but the conspiracy was to commit a fake robbery, Wadden said, before acquitting Shaheen on that charge.
At the time of his arrest in June 2015, Shaheen owned and operated three pharmacies — the I.D.A. on Rideau and two others in Bells Corners and on St. Laurent Boulevard. He sold them all a month later.
Shaheen is expected to face discipline by the Ontario College of Pharmacists. Last April, the college put off any disciplinary hearing until after the criminal case against Shaheen was done. He had been suspended by the college from practising as a pharmacist since March 2016, but has been banned by the court from practising since 2015 when his bail conditions were set.
The college also alleges that Shaheen failed to complete an ethics-based workshop when ordered to after his arrest.
Mehdi Rostaee claimed on the witness stand that all of the fentanyl he received was for personal use to feed his own addiction. Outstanding charges laid by the RCMP also bring that into question.
In December 2016, the Mounties raided Rostaee’s Orléans home and seized 19 grams of designer drug furanylfetanyl, which is between 21,000 and 38,000 doses.
Rostaee was arrested and charged with multiple drug offences, including importing a controlled substance, in a joint probe with border authorities. He has yet to face those allegations.
Shaheen has yet to be sentenced.
syogaretnam@postmedia.com
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy
No comments:
Post a Comment