Canadian military officer acquitted of fentanyl and cocaine trafficking

Capt. Charles Meyers, a 49-year-old veteran of the Canadian Army’s 5th Field Artillery Regiment, was acquitted of charges alleging possession of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking. He was convicted of simple possession of methamphetamine and received an absolute discharge. Meyers was arrested on Aug. 4, 2024, after an undercover Victoria police officer saw what she believed were a series of hand-to-hand drug transactions on Pandora Avenue.

The officer testified at a court martial that Meyers arrived in a pickup truck and handed a white object about the size of a golf ball to another man. She said a search found a small bag of methamphetamine in the driver’s side door and other suspected drugs in a locked glove compartment. Meyers was arrested and released at the scene, then charged in military court with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking: cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The evidence seized by Victoria police was later transferred to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service for further investigation and analysis. Prosecutors argued at trial that the drugs and their packaging, a scale, and the circumstances of Meyers’ alleged hand-to-hand interaction established possession for the purpose of trafficking. The defence challenged the evidence’s reliability, focusing on failures in the chain of custody after the substances were seized.

Military Judge Col. Steve Strickey heard that evidence packages sent to Health Canada for analysis were temporarily lost, while others were rejected because they had not been packaged according to the agency’s requirements. The defence argued that repeated gaps and discrepancies in the chain of custody created reasonable doubt about whether the substances analyzed were the same ones taken from the truck. Strickey found the prosecution had not proved Meyers knew there were drugs in the locked glove compartment or exercised control over them. The case also did not rule out the reasonable possibility that someone else had put the drugs there.

Strickey acquitted Meyers of all three possession-for-the-purpose-of-trafficking charges, but found the charge of simple methamphetamine possession was made out. Meyers was driving the truck when he was arrested. The judge found he knew about and controlled the methamphetamine in the driver’s side door, even though it was not found on his person.

In delivering his sentencing decision Friday, Strickey weighed the seriousness of methamphetamine possession, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, against Meyers’ circumstances. Meyers has no criminal record and served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 22 years. Prosecutors had sought a severe reprimand and a $2,000 fine, arguing that his rank as a commissioned officer called for meaningful punishment to reinforce discipline and deter similar conduct in the forces.

The defence sought an absolute discharge, saying Meyers had already faced significant consequences, including losing his military career after his release from the Canadian Armed Forces in June. The judge granted the discharge on the remaining count of simple methamphetamine possession. Meyers will not have a criminal record as a result.