Convicted Winnipeg pot delivery man pleads guilty to importing fentanyl

A Winnipeg pot activist convicted of drug trafficking after selling cannabis to undercover police has now pleaded guilty to importing fentanyl into Canada.

Ray Alder John Csincsa pleaded guilty Friday to importing the drug from China on three separate occasions in 2016.

Csincsa first caught the attention of Winnipeg police in 2015 after he began openly smoking pot on social media and advertising his cannabis delivery service on Facebook.

He was arrested in April 2016 after an undercover officer bought half an ounce of marijuana for $110 cash. It was the fourth time an undercover officer purchased pot from Csincsa in a matter of months, court documents say.

Csincsa pleaded guilty in April 2017 to four counts of drug trafficking in relation to the pot sales and was sentenced to eight months, asrecommended jointly by the defence andthe Crown.

Further charges

At the time of his sentencing for the pot charges, Csincsa had already spent five and a half months in jail and would have been released from custody but he remained behind bars on charges of importing a controlled substance.

Winnipeg marijuana delivery man pleads guilty to drug trafficking

7 years ago

Duration 1:09

Ray Alder John Csincsa, 54, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to four counts of drug trafficking between Feb. 25 and April 6, 2016.

Those charges cameafter Canadian Border Services officers in Vancouver intercepted a suspicious package addressed to "Thomas Greene" at a Church Avenue home in Winnipeg.

Tests confirmed the package contained 9.258 grams of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $14,800.

Csincsa was arrested and charged on July 29, 2016, after he identified himself as Thomas Greene to an undercover RCMP officer who was acting as a delivery person.

CBSA officers had intercepted a similar package from the same sender in May 2016 that also contained fentanyl, a statement of claim says.

Officers searched Csincsa'shome and found additional quantities of fentanyl, marijuana and Valium, and seized $4,780 in cash.

In a Winnipeg courtroom Friday,Csincsa pleaded guilty to importing fentanyl on both occasions as well as a third time between May 31 and July 22, 2016.

In all, Csincsa admitted to importing 14.25 grams of fentanyl, and the guilty pleas mean further charges will bedropped by the Crown.

A sentencing hearing for Csincsahas been scheduled onJune 4.