Talal Khatib is a free man.
Judge Louise Charbonneau found him not guilty of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime in a Yellowknife courtroom this morning.
Khatib was charged in 2017 following a police investigation into 22 Kugmallit Road in Inuvik, where police saw a person they believed to be Khatib passing objects out of the window in exchange for what police believed to be money.
A search warrant of the premise found the front and basement access had been boarded up, a hole was cut in the back to allow access between the two floors, and considerable amount of marijuana found accessible from the living room, as well as a second individual who was not charged.
Police also found a puck-sized chunk of crack cocaine and powdered cocaine stashed away in the heat vents.
Charbonneau said she was satisfied that the money located in heat dockets and mattress was of criminal means and ordered they remain seized. However, she did not have enough evidence to prove the items seized were connected to Khatib beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Khatib appeared by CCTV from his home in Edmonton due to health concerns.