DURHAM—A Durham police officer faces the possibility of a penitentiary sentence after pleading guilty Friday to two counts of trafficking cocaine.

Husen Aswat took time out from his policing duties — at one point failing to respond to a report of a robbery in Oshawa — as he assisted two women he took to be cocaine dealers, but, who, in reality, were undercover cops, according to a statement of facts read into the record during his court appearance Friday.

Aswat, an officer in Durham since 2008, was arrested in September of 2017 after an undercover investigation into suspected cocaine trafficking at the Black Bear Bar and Grill on Westney Road South in Ajax. Also caught up in the bust was Durham police officer Amandeep Thakur, who awaits trial on charges including breach of trust and theft under $5,000.

Friday Aswat was barely audible as he twice uttered the word “guilty” to the charges, which relate to his participation in the sale of large quantities of cocaine to undercover cops. He stood with his eyes downcast and his hands clasped in front of him as his lawyer, Sherif Foda, stood nearby, a hand on his shoulder.

Foda said Aswat is aware of the repercussions of his plea, including the fact that his career as a cop is effectively over.

“He understands he will no longer be a police officer,” Foda told Superior Court Justice Laura Bird. “He understands he will be going to jail for a significant amount of time.”

Foda said it’s his understanding the Crown will be seeking a four-year penitentiary term for Aswat. That would be the same sentence expected to be given Aswat’s co-accused Shaun Carter, a civilian who earlier this year pleaded guilty to trafficking and awaits formal sentencing.

Two other men caught up in the investigation, Black Bear owner Rajalingam Varatharajan and Kevin Chung, are scheduled to go to trial early next year.

Prosecutor Brendan Gluckman said that in 2017 Varatharajan introduced two female undercover police officers posing as cocaine dealers to Aswat, who was soon partying with the women and offering to assist them in their drug deals.

One night, while partying Aswat let the women handle his unloaded service pistol and playfully handcuffed one of them, according to the facts read into the record by Gluckman. He also used a police data system to check up on a man the undercover cops identified as a potential drug buyer, and accompanied them as they conducted drug deals, court heard.

On one occasion Aswat, who was on duty, waited nearby in his cruiser as a staged drug deal occurred in Oshawa, Gluckman said. As he kept watch, Aswat heard a report of a robbery nearby over his police radio, but did not respond to the call, he said.

On another occasion, Aswat drove the women to Bradford for the staged sale of nine ounces of cocaine, instructing them on how to conduct themselves as part of a tutorial he dubbed “drug dealing 101,” according to the facts.

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Aswat was also watching from his police car as another staged drug deal for a significant amount of cocaine took place at the Black Bear in Ajax, court heard.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for early August. Foda indicated that he’ll seek a reformatory sentence of less than two years. Issues to be addressed during the hearing will be a psychological assessment that’s been done on Aswat and discussion of whether or not he had a responsibility to respond to the robbery call he heard while watching over the staged deal in Oshawa, Foda said.