London man sentenced in one of Canada’s largest fentanyl busts

CTV London’s Nick Paparella with the sentencing of Justin Taillefer, a man convicted in a multi-million-dollar fentanyl bust.

Justin Taillefer, 31, hugged his family for one last time as he was led away from the courtroom on Tuesday to start serving his lengthy prison sentence.

After a trial in October, Taillefer was found guilty of 11 charges, including possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

In January 2023 Taillefer became embroiled in what was at the time, the largest fentanyl seizure in Canadian history after officers seized $3.2 million worth of fentanyl in an operation known as ‘Project Oasis’ after searching his Cheapside Street apartment.

Taillefer told the court he had simply rented out a room in his apartment to the co-accused and mastermind, 26-year-old Taymoor Pasha.

Pasha has already been sentenced to 16.5 in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking charges.

While handing down her sentence Justice Patricia Moore said of the two accused, “They played materially different roles in relation to the drugs found.”

After a joint sentencing submission from Federal Crown Vincenzo Mazza and defence lawyer Jim Dean, the judge sentenced Taillefer to 15 years in prison.

With credit for time already served he has the equivalent of 14 years and one month left.

Moore addressed the city’s illegal drug issues by saying, “London has been disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis and that this harm remains acute and ongoing.”

Outside the courthouse Dean spoke with CTV News London saying of his client, “He’ll be doing some serious time even though it wasn’t his operation, so let this be a lesson to those involved with those in the drug culture.”