KINGMAN – All charges against two Canadian citizens arrested in a drug bust on Interstate 40 west of Kingman have been dismissed following disclosure of what defense attorneys purport to be law enforcement disclosure failures. Deputy Mohave County Attorney Jonathan Robinson dismissed the drug trafficking related charges at the start of an Oct. 15 hearing at the Mohave County Courthouse.
Beyan Beyan, 30, and Samatar Ahmed, 36, were arrested following a Feb. 20 traffic stop and subsequent search involving officers from the Bullhead City Police Department, Mohave County Sheriff’s office, MAGNET narcotics task force and Department of Public Safety. Roughly 370 pounds of cocaine and 220 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value in excess of $12 million was confiscated from a container being hauled on the eighteen-wheeler occupied by the truck driver defendants.
Defense attorneys Virginia Crews and Brad Rideout said they learned new information during an Oct. 8 evidentiary hearing in Kingman that led to case dismissal at Thursday’s hearing. Crews said a Bullhead City police detective failed to disclose that another agency shared advance information about the illegal cargo coming through Mohave County.
Crews said officers and an airplane had been tracking the truck in a surveillance operation that was withheld from defense counsel. She said it was improper for officers to stop the big rig for “crossing the fog line” when they were simply looking for a reason to make the traffic stop.
Crews said the traffic stop ruse was unnecessary, given that officers might have been able to establish probable cause to conduct their work in a manner that would have survived legal review. Crews said defense victories in major drug cases are rare and that it’s satisfying for the justice system to produce a proper result.
“That’s why we defend every case completely, regardless of the circumstance,” Crews said. “It’s just energizing for us to keep going.”
Crews said she was confident her client would have been acquitted had the Nov. 2 trial been conducted as scheduled. She said both men claimed they had no knowledge they were hauling illegal cargo.
Robinson said Friday that the case was dismissed without prejudice and isn’t necessarily over. He said he needs more information as he ponders additional disclosure as he reviews potential options to possibly move forward with prosecution.
Both Crews and Rideout were involved in defense of persons charged in an alleged Asian massage parlor organization engaged in prostitution in Bullhead City and Lake Havasu. Exposure of alleged misconduct by federal undercover agents led to case dismissals.
Crews said dismissal outcomes in both cases involve improper police procedure. “They are absolutely parallel in that respect,” Crews said.
