Ontario man jailed a year for 31 kg of cannabis seized at Vancouver airport
Alaaddin Koc, 56, of Windsor, Ontario, was sentenced on 21 September 2026 to one year in prison for trying to take about 31 kilograms of cannabis from Vancouver International Airport to London's Heathrow in October 2024. He pleaded guilty in July 2026; the court said credit for time served left 251 days to serve, and he was also given a lifetime firearms prohibition.
🇨🇦 Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, British Columbia · British Columbia, Canada
·
Cannabis
31 kg
Prison
1 year
Canada Border Services Agency officers intercepted Alaaddin Koc, 56, of Windsor, Ontario, at
Vancouver International Airport on 28 October 2024, finding about 31 kilograms of cannabis in his
suitcase as he was about to board a flight to London’s Heathrow Airport.[1]RCMP Federal Policing
Pacific Region border integrity officers arrested him, and he was released while the investigation
continued.[1]
Charges were approved under the Cannabis Act, but Koc failed to appear in court and a Canada-wide
arrest warrant was issued. He was later located in Ontario.[1]On 27 July 2026 he pleaded guilty
to possession of cannabis for the purpose of exportation, and on 21 September 2026 he was given a
one-year prison term and a lifetime firearms prohibition.[1]
Richmond Provincial Court, where the case was heard, told the Richmond News that after credit for
time served the remaining term is 251 days, and that the firearms ban covers restricted and
prohibited weapons and ammunition.[2]Staff Sgt. Rhonda Hislop, acting officer-in-charge of the
RCMP’s Border Integrity Program (Air & Marine), said that while cannabis is legal in Canada there
is still an active illicit market, and that the outbound flow of illicit drugs remains a priority
for the program.[1]
Photos and video
Cannabis packed in vacuum-sealed bags that was found in a suitcase at Vancouver International Airport, in an RCMP handout photo. Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Charlottetown interim police chief Darren MacDougall pleaded guilty and paid a $200 fine for buying cannabis at the unregulated Mniku Trading Post on Abegweit First Nation in July 2025. The RCMP ticketed him about a year later during a larger investigation, and city officials say they remain confident in his leadership.
Shane Hendry, 30, received 122 days, treated as already served, plus a year of probation, for cannabis possession for distribution and resisting police after a Dieppe traffic stop. Officers reported two small bags of cannabis and $311,000 in cash; a warrant remains for the driver, Kyle Winston Rouse.
Markham real estate agent Phu Nhi (John) Trac was jailed for five years and fined more than $1 million on 22 December 2009 for running Canada's largest-known grow-op scheme: 54 rented Toronto-area houses yielding 27,550 plants worth over $30 million. Charges against his wife and brother were dropped; his lead accomplice fled and remains wanted.
Peter Toman was jailed for 11 years after admitting he conspired to import 22.5 tonnes of hashish worth $225 million, which undercover RCMP officers seized from his suppliers off Angola and delivered to Quebec in a sting. Three conspirators were arrested when the drugs arrived in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
Arrested 3Charged 4Cannabis 22.5 tPrison 11 years (Peter Toman); 4 years (Shawn Daoust)
