Operator of Winnipeg magic mushroom shop given house arrest sentence
One of the operators of an illegal magic mushroom shop that popped up in Osborne Village last year will serve nine months of house arrest for her role in the operation.
Hosnia Qazi, a real estate agent from Ottawa, was in court Wednesday for sentencing after she was arrested and charged in May 2023 for possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
The court heard the Winnipeg Police Service started investigating the shop, Magic Mush, on May 18, 2023, and on two separate occasions, undercover officers went to the store to buy products.
"In each occurrence, the staff did not request any identification or offer any advice or explanation related to the product they were selling," said Crown attorney Dan Manning while reading a statement of the facts.
Manning also told the court that during the second undercover interaction, one officer asked Qazi, who was working behind the counter, if his girlfriend with anxiety should get the mushrooms and if a prescription was needed.
"We don't take any prescriptions as we've just opened up, and we're trying to gauge the temperature of police right now," Manning said the officer was told at the time.
Manning noted the business was entirely for-profit, and even though it claimed to offer different strains, it was actually all the same.
On May 19, police executed a search warrant at the business and also at Qazi's home. Officers found 39 13-gram mushroom baggies at the store, along with other loose mushroom products, and more than $3,000 in cash.
At Qazi's home, officers found more mushroom products and more than $12,000 in cash.
Qazi was operating the business with her then-boyfriend Damien Hiebert. Her lawyer, Jack Lloyd, told court her relationship with Hiebert was abusive and that she was being dragged along by a "bad boyfriend."
Hiebert died shortly after being arrested from a fentanyl overdose, the court heard.
Lloyd also told the court police were willing to give Qazi and Hiebert a warning to shut down the store. However, after their previous lawyer Jamie Kagan told media that they would reopen if police raided, the police's hands were tied.
In a previous interview with CTV News Winnipeg, Kagan said the store was there so people had an "opportunity to make an informed decision," and wanted the police to, "get behind us and realize how good of an impact we're making on the community. We're on the same team."
Lloyd told the court that Kagan's continued comments to the media were "bizarre."
Before handing down his sentencing, Judge Sam Raposo heard from Lloyd that Qazi had no interest in continuing "any further dalliance," and that she was extremely sorry for her role.
Raposo said it was a brazen flouting of the law, and "the drug had no safeguards."
"Your actions, that included selling this illegal drug, contributed to preying on persons who are dependent on drugs," Raposo said.
He also noted Qazi received "horrible advice" from Kagan on operating the business.
Qazi was given a nine-month conditional sentence, and it will be served under house arrest.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
BREAKING B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Speaker cuts ties with Sask. Party, alleges he faced threats, harassment from gov't MLAs
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her. His lawyers argue it wasn't murder
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for childcare as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.