A sentencing date remains has yet to be set for a Hells Angels Nomad chapter member from Ottawa caught dealing drugs in Sudbury.
Joshua Khosrowkhani, 33, who was facing five charges arising from his arrest Aug. 1, 2019, and was in custody at the Sudbury Jail, pleaded guilty via videoconference July 29 to cocaine possession for the purpose of trafficking.
A sentencing date, which was to have been set in assignment court Wednesday of this week, was not. A date will now be set Aug. 26.
Wednesday marked the second time a sentencing date was to have been set for Khosrowkhani, but was put off.
The court heard that in the summer of 2018, Niagara Regional Police, Greater Sudbury Police and the Ontario Provincial Police started a joint investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring that operated across Ontario, including Greater Sudbury.
Dubbed Project Skylark, the investigation included the wiretapping of communications in April and June of 2019 that investigated a network of drug trafficking in Nova Scotia and Ontario, and concentrated on the Red Devils motorcycle club and the Hells Angels Nomads chapter. Khosrowkhani, a full-patch member of the Nomads chapter, was identified as one of three targets by police.
Wiretapped communications uncovered that he was involved in the sale of cannabis products ranging in price from $250 to $300 an ounce.
On Aug. 1, 2019, a search warrant executed at Khosrowkhani’s home in the Ottawa area turned up a wide variety of items including cocaine, MDMA (an amphetamine derivative), marijuana, two packages of cannabis edibles, other cannabis products, and $10,500 in cash.
In early August of 2019, police told a news conference in Niagara Falls that Project Skylark investigated members and associates of the Hells Angels Nomads, Red Devils Motorcycle Club and the Hooligans Motorcycle Club associated with the trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl in the Niagara Region, Sudbury and Ottawa.
“The results of this investigation have significantly impacted the Hells Angels Nomads and Red Devils MC drug trafficking network,” OPP Superintendent Bryan MacKillop said at the time. “We want to send a clear message that law enforcement agencies are working together to hold (outlaw motorcycle clubs) accountable for trafficking and distributing these drugs that are taking the lives of people in our communities.”
The Ontario Provincial Police Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, the Niagara Regional Police Service, Greater Sudbury Police Service, Ottawa Police Service, and Hamilton Police Service carried out the 14-month investigation.
About 6 a.m. Aug. 1, search warrants were executed across the province, including five at locations in Greater Sudbury.
Police in Greater Sudbury seized about $420,000 worth of drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and shatter. Five handguns, three long guns, and $50,000 in cash were also seized.
Seven people were charged in Greater Sudbury.
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Source: The Sudbury Star