A former Surrey RCMP officer who pleaded guilty to breach of trust earlier this year has been sentenced, six years after the undercover operation that led to 13 charges against him.
Dawwd Alaaeldine Soukary was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in jail. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Murray B. Blok accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers recommending that sentence.
The charge Soukary pleaded guilty to in April alleged that he had committed breach of trust by “accessing confidential police databases and files for a purpose inconsistent with his duties as a police officer” between Nov. 30, 2020 and his arrest on Jan. 27, 2021.
Blok’s decision sheds additional light on the context of those breaches.
59 undercover scenarios
According to the decision, the RCMP received a report “supported by CCTV footage” that Soukary was involved in purchasing a significant volume of drugs on behalf of two suspected criminals, referred to in the decision as MN and AH.
The tip was received in August 2020, but investigators “did not gather any further evidence supporting this drug trafficking allegation, and no charges resulted,” Blok’s decision notes.
At the time, Soukary was a probationary officer with the Surrey RCMP. The person who provided the tip said Soukary had indicated that once he was allowed to work without supervision, he planned to use police databases to obtain information for his criminal associates.
“The RCMP formulated and then implemented a plan to recruit Mr. Soukary as an undercover operator for a fictitious undercover operation targeting a fictitious drug trafficker,” the decision reads.
“He was paired with another undercover operator who pretended to be corrupt and associate with drug traffickers. The goal of this fictitious operation was to arrange a purchase of a kilogram of cocaine from a particular big-time (but also fictional) trafficker, but the real target of the operation was Mr. Soukary.”
Beginning in October 2020 and continuing up until his arrest in January 2021, investigators staged “43 undercover scenarios consisting of interactions between Mr. Soukary and his fictitiously corrupt partner, and 16 additional scenarios involving the sham undercover drug investigation,” according to the decision.
The sting culminated with a scenario in which Soukary was given $72,000 to purchase a one-kilogram cocaine brick from the fictional trafficker.
The court decision indicates Soukary told his fake partner that the market value of such a brick was $55,000 to $60,000, and that he intended to negotiate a lower price with the trafficker and then pocket the proceeds.
The fake partner encouraged this behaviour, and when Soukary paid just $63,000 for the drugs, he gave the fake partner $1,000 and kept the remaining $8,000 for himself, according to the decision.
“Mr. Soukary was arrested shortly afterward, at which time $8,000 was found on his person,” the decision reads. “The $63,000 in purchase money was obviously recovered, as it never left RCMP hands, the $1,000 paid to the other undercover operator was also accounted for, and the cocaine (which was real) also never left RCMP control.”
Investigators seized, searched and analyzed Soukary’s phone, finding that he had “repeatedly texted” photos of confidential information he obtained while working solo during the fake undercover investigation to MN and AH.
“There is no evidence that the confidential information Mr. Soukary shared compromised any active RCMP investigations and no evidence that the shared information led to any other criminal conduct,” the decision reads, citing an agreed statement of facts in the case.
‘Substantial triable issues’
Blok’s decision describes Soukary as a 31-year-old son of Egyptian immigrants who was born and raised in Ottawa and grew up in “underprivileged circumstances.”
After his arrest, he resigned from the RCMP and returned to Ottawa, working as a Realtor before “shifting to work at a soccer and athletic performance gym,” according to the decision.
While it’s not mentioned in the court document, Soukary voluntarily terminated his registration with the Real Estate Council of Ontario after the regulator accused him with failing to notify it of criminal charges laid against him.
Soukary entered an undertaking not to reapply for registration with the RECO before July 1 of this year.
Blok’s decision summarizes arguments from both the Crown and defence in support of their joint submission.
Prosecutors noted the seriousness of the offence and the repeated nature of Soukary’s decision to access and share confidential information.
They also highlighted his guilty plea as a “significant sign of remorse,” his lack of a prior criminal record, and his relative youth: He was 25 years old at the time of the offence.
Soukary’s defence lawyers highlighted the RCMP’s tactics in investigating him, noting that the undercover operation “aimed to create a climate that normalized police corruption and tempted him with opportunities to commit offences.”
“The defence notes the significant benefits of Mr. Soukary’s guilty plea and joint submission on sentence,” the decision reads.
“There were substantial triable issues and, in particular, a genuine issue as to the extent to which the police created the circumstances that led to the offences. The evidence would have required the court to carefully consider whether the police conduct crossed the line into entrapment.”
Blok ultimately accepted the joint submission, finding that it was reasonable in the circumstances and would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute or be contrary to the public interest.
The judge sentenced Soukary to 18 months in jail, ordered him to provide a DNA sample, and required him to pay a $200 victim surcharge.
The other 12 charges against Soukary have been stayed by the Crown.
