An Indo-Canadian realtor from Brampton will be serving a seven-year sentence, to be followed by deportation, for importing opium after security personnel at Pearson International Airport found the drugs inside his luggage when he returned from a trip to India. According to a judgment recently released by Justice Lucille Shaw, a jury found 34-year-old Nitish Verma guilty of one count of importing opium on March 6.

BRAMPTON – An Indo-Canadian realtor from Brampton will be serving a seven-year sentence, to be followed by deportation, for importing opium after security personnel at Pearson International Airport found the drugs inside his luggage when he returned from a trip to India.

According to a judgment recently released by Justice Lucille Shaw, a jury found 34-year-old Nitish Verma guilty of one count of importing opium on March 6, reported Brampton Guardian.

Shaw wrote in the judgment that Verma was arrested on Aug. 4, 2019, after 13.7 kilograms of opium were found in his bags, tucked inside boxes of sweets.

The street value of the drug was estimated to range from $294,316 to $936,460.

Verma had argued at trial that he didn’t know the boxes of sweets contained illegal drugs, stating he was bringing the treats back at the request of a good friend in Canada.

 “Mr. Verma has filed an appeal against his conviction and vehemently maintains his innocence,” said Mark Halfyard, Verma’s lawyer, in an emailed statement. “Mr. Verma was taken advantage of by an unscrupulous person known to him and is the victim of having drugs planted in his luggage. This is what he told the police upon his arrest and the position he has maintained throughout this ordeal. He looks forward to his day in court before the Court of Appeal for Ontario to challenge the verdict in this case.”

The judge stated in her judgment there was no evidence that Verma had connections with drug traffickers and several friends and family wrote letters of support for Verma to be submitted during the sentencing.

In the judge’s decision, she recounted how Verma told the courts he went on the trip to India to help his sister find a husband and before returning, met up with someone at the airport in Delhi to bring back boxes of treats.

Verma is a permanent resident and moved to Canada years ago, graduating from Seneca College in 2013, then worked at Rogers and Bell before becoming a real estate agent.

His supporters wrote of the shock they felt when hearing he was arrested, describing him as hard-working and the accusation was out of character for him.

He volunteered for the Liberal party in Brampton during the 2021 federal election.

 “I do not find that Mr. Verma was a principal, but rather was a courier,” wrote Shaw in her sentencing. “It strikes me as tragic that someone who showed so much promise and had so much support could commit a criminal offence with devastating consequences.”

The judge stated this was Verma’s first offence and that prior to this, he’d had a bright and promising future in Canada.

The judge added Verma would face deportation once his sentence is complete, as he is not a Canadian citizen.

Courtesy Brampton Guardian