A Lower Mainland man convicted of selling fentanyl mixed with heroin as well as cocaine has been sentenced to 18 months in jail, the judge saying Jamil Ibrahim Adamu showed no genuine remorse for his crimes.

Justice Heather MacNaughton said Adamu was fully employed, not addicted and not forced into drug dealing by economic circumstances.

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“The fact that greed drove his offences must be seen as an aggravating factor,” McNaughton ruled.

“The pre-sentencing report did not contain any expressions of Mr. Adamu’s remorse for selling fentanyl or recognition about the risks to our society of doing so, suggests that Mr. Adamu has not truly accepted responsibility for his criminal behaviour,” she ruled.

B.C.’s overdose death crisis, which has claimed more than 4,800 lives since the start of 2016, has been linked largely to fentanyl. Doctors say it is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

Coquitlam RCMP began watching Adamu in May 2016 after receiving a tip of a male selling drugs in a dial-a-dope operation. Both he and his brother became investigation targets, Justice MacNaughton said in a ruling released Jan. 28.

Then, in October 2016, RCMP began an undercover operation. An undercover officer saw drugs for sale in a car but was unsuccessful in buying any. They also saw meetings consistent with what was described as drug trafficking.

When arrested, Adamu, now 24, was found with 21 pieces of crack cocaine weighing 5.17 grams, two baggies of powder cocaine weighing 0.52 grams and five baggies of fentanyl mixed with powder heroin weighing 0.53 grams.

Two phones were also seized. When police answered incoming phone calls on one phone, an officer spoke to seven callers wanting to order drugs.

McNaughton said Adamu’s age, lack of a criminal record, productive life since his arrest, and the support that he provides to his family were mitigating factors in sentencing.

She said his inviting a conviction once Charter challenges were unsuccessful avoided need for a trial.

jhainsworth@glaciermedia.ca

@Jhainswo