Bagel shop owner accused of drug trafficking

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This article was published 22/12/2022 (1059 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The co-owner of a Sherbrook Street bagel shop has been making dough, not just in his kitchen but as a “high-ranking” drug trafficker, justice officials allege in newly filed court documents.

Chris Silva, 47, owner of Hudson Bagels, was arrested earlier this month following a 16-month investigation by Winnipeg police targeting a “network of individuals” that allegedly imported and trafficked large amounts of cocaine and MDMA (also known as ecstasy or molly).

“During the course of the investigation, police directly observed quantities of cocaine with a street value in the range of $1 million being handled stored and/or distributed by members of the drug trafficking network,” says a statement of claim filed with the court last week on behalf of the province’s Criminal Property Forfeiture Unit.

Silva, who is free on bail, has been charged with one count each of trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000.

The one-storey bagel shop is “upbeat,” serving gourmet sandwiches and “luxurious spreads,” according to its website. Before the West Broadway shop opened in November 2020, the owners commissioned a graffiti artist to paint “bagels” in multi-coloured block letters on the building’s south facing wall.

On Thursday afternoon, the bagel shop was open, but few customers stopped in.

Contacted by phone Thursday, Silva’s wife and business partner said Silva was not available and she did not know where to reach him.

The police investigation, dubbed “Project Onyx,” involved “physical surveillance of Silva,” described in court documents as a “high-ranking member of the drug trafficking network,” whose responsibilities included meeting other members of the network to collect cash proceeds of drug transactions and shipping packages of money to drug suppliers out of province.

The statement of claim details four occasions between July 2022 and Dec. 6 when police observed Silva involved in alleged drug transactions.

In the most recent incident, Silva is alleged to have used an alias to ship a package by commercial courier to an address in Langley, B.C. Police intercepted the package, which was found to contain $90,000 in bundled cash.

“The Canadian currency was bundled and packaged in a manner consistent with high-level drug trafficking and proceeds of unlawful activity,” says the statement of claim.

The forfeiture unit has filed a court motion to continue freezing bank accounts belonging to Silva and his wife — who has not been charged in the investigation — and three bank accounts belonging to Hudson Bagels. The forfeiture unit is seeking an order to seize the bank funds as proceeds of crime, says the statement of claim.

“If the (bank) accounts are not preserved these proceedings could be frustrated,” says the court document.

“The funds were used or were intended to be use, to engage in unlawful activity , specifically to acquire controlled substances for the purposes of trafficking, which in turn was likely to, or was intended to, result in the acquisition of property, namely monetary profit.”

Financial institutions are obligated to report suspicious financial transactions, including deposits of $10,000 or more, to FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence unit.

FINTRAC, says the statement of claim, found Silva was the subject of multiple large cash transaction report between Jan. 31 and Aug. 9, 2022, when Silva made three separate cash deposits to his joint marital account within four hours.

“It is my understanding, based on my experience as a former police officer and my discussions with police, that drug traffickers have a tendency to divide their cash deposits into smaller amounts in order to avoid triggering their financial institution’s mandatory requirement to report their large cash transactions to FINTRAC,” forfeiture unit assistant director Philip Sciatecki said in an affidavit.

The allegations have not been proven in court and Silva is considered innocent.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca