Smell of pot at roadside check leads to discovery of handgun, cocaine in Sudbury

A Sudbury police vehicle is seen in this undated photo. (File)

Sudbury police who sniffed cannabis coming from a vehicle during recent roadside checks found a whole lot more during a search of a vehicle: a handgun and cocaine.

The incident took place Sept. 29 when police were conducting checks at the corner of Burton Avenue and Frood Road just after 1 a.m.

"Officers could smell the odour of cannabis emanating from inside the vehicle," police said in a news release Tuesday.

"When asked about the odour, the driver denied using or carrying cannabis in the vehicle. Despite officers explaining to the driver that they had reasonable grounds to believe that cannabis was in the vehicle and that they had authority to search him and the vehicle pursuant to the Cannabis Control Act, the driver continuously refused to exit the vehicle in order for police to conduct a search."

The driver was arrested and charged with obstructing police. Police searched the vehicle and found three grams of marijuana and a scale.

But they also found 32 grams of drugs believed to be cocaine, three cellphones, a handgun and ammunition.

Additional charges for the sole occupant of the vehicle include trafficking, weapons-related offences – including tampering with the serial number of the handgun -- and driving with cannabis readily available to the driver.

He was held for weekend bail court.