Stabbing death shines light on what draws GTA drug dealers to northern Ont.

Drugs seized in a recent drug bust in northern Ontario. In the Thunder Bay case, Khalid Mohamed told the court he used a 'trap house' and brough a minimum amount of drugs and cash in case he was robbed or busted.

A drug dealing business in Thunder Bay that turned deadly for a Toronto man exposes an underworld that lures southern Ontario criminals north because they can make huge profits in a short period.

As reported by CTV News last month, Khalid Mohamed was found not guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Steven Burns in October 2021 outside of a casino.

While Mohamed admitted to killing Burns, the judge in the case ruled that it was self-defence since the knife belonged to the victim and Mohamed feared for his life during the struggle.

Mohamed, now 28, lived in Toronto at the time of the murder and was on his second trip to Thunder Bay to sell drugs.

He followed strict rules known as ‘the program’ to minimize his risk. For example, he travelled from Toronto to Thunder Bay by bus because an ID wasn’t required to board the bus.

Dressed like a drug user

“He also dressed ‘dishevelled,’ like a drug user, to blend in,” the court decision said.

Mohamed had two locations in Thunder Bay – one ‘safe house’ where he kept most of his drugs, cash profits and personal belongings, and one ‘trap house’ where the drugs were actually sold.

At the trap house, he brought a minimum amount of drugs and cash – usually less than $5,000.

“Only small amounts were kept so the loss would not be great if he was robbed at the trap house and, if raided by the police, the charges would be less serious, with bail being more likely,” the court decision said.

“Because he was located adjacent to the bathroom, he could flush the drugs if the police arrived. Giving the drugs and cash to a robber rather than resisting helped to maintain a low profile and avoid violence.”

He also made use of a ‘runner’ – someone he could trust who would take profits from the trap house, bring them to the safe house and then take drugs from the safe house back to Mohamed to resupply him for more drug deals.

At the trap house, he paid the person who actually lived in the apartment in drugs per hour, and that person acted as a doorman, letting in buyers.

Mohamed remained in a back room.

“In his first three- or four-day trip to Thunder Bay, he made a little under $50,000 with an investment of about $7,000 in drugs,” the decision said.

“He described this as an ‘amazing’ return. Mohamed described the drug traffic as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘extreme’ due to the large number of people looking for drugs.”

He returned to Thunder Bay on Oct. 15, 2021, this time with much more drugs to sell -- nine ounces of cocaine, three ounces of fentanyl and 100 oxycontin pills – so he could make more money.

‘The program’ helped reduce risks

While he followed ‘the program’ again, setting up in the same lucrative trap house, Mohamed made the mistake of wearing chains and other jewelry that were both valuable monetarily and sentimentally.

When he was robbed by Burns and two other men -- Ricky Sakakeesic and Kiefer Jabic – at knifepoint, he quickly gave them all the fentanyl and the $5,000 in cash that he had on him, following the program.

As the trio beat Mohamed as they were leaving, a gold watch and the chains he was wearing were exposed.

“He had three chains around his neck that were tucked inside his shirt,” the decision said.

“Jabic took the watch from Mohamed’s wrist and Burns took the jewelry from around Mohamed’s neck.”

Had sentimental value

He got the watch from his uncle when they were on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. One of the chains was given to him by a friend who died in 2018.

After the trio left, Mohamed decided to pursue Burns to try and get his chains back because of their sentimental value.

That led to the eventual struggle with Burns, who was much bigger than Mohamed. But he managed to get the knife away from Burns and stabbed him twice, once in the stomach and a fatal wound to the heart.

While agreeing that pursuing Burns certainly violated the rules of ‘the program,’ the judge ruled that Mohamed was trying to get his property back.

“Grabbing Burns was, therefore, not an unreasonable act,” the judge wrote.

“Mohamed’s role then morphed into that of a potential stabbing victim who reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of being stabbed by Burns. It was Burns, not Mohamed, who possessed the knife and who was reaching for it when the confrontation began.”

Therefore, the judge ruled, Mohamed was not guilty of second-degree murder.

Read the full decision here.