Former Winnipeg bagel shop owner pleads guilty to possessing proceeds of crime linked to drug trafficking ring

Lawyers are asking for a man who co-owned a Winnipeg bagel shop to be sentenced to more than four years in prison after he pleaded guilty this week to possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000 almost two years after allegations thathe was a high-ranking member of a drug trafficking network came to light.

Chris Silva pleaded guilty on Monday to possessing the proceeds of crime over $5,000, following claims against him that were made public in late 2022 when Manitoba's director of criminal property forfeiture filed a court document seeking to seize money from Silva and his Winnipeg business, Hudson Bagels, on the grounds that the funds came from illegal activity.

Court heard Silvafirst came on police radar when a vehicle he owned was seen in July 2022 meeting with one of two men believed to be running a drug network police were investigating.

In the following months, Silva was on one occasion seen meeting with the same man, Biniam Fitur, in a Southdale mall parking lot and receiving a gift bag with roughly $40,000 in it.

Court records show Fitur was sentenced to eight years in prison in April after pleading guilty to trafficking a controlled substance.

On another day, Silva sent a package containing about $95,000 to British Columbia under a false name, federal Crown attorney Kirsty Elgert read from an agreed statement of facts in Manitoba's Court of King's Bench.

Silva, who owned the bagel shop on Sherbrook Street with his wife, was charged in December 2022 with trafficking, possession for the purposes of trafficking and possession of property or the proceeds of property obtained by drug-related crime valued over $5,000.

Crown and defence lawyers jointly recommended a sentence of four years and three months plus a 10-year weapons ban and a DNA order.

The 18-month investigation, dubbed Project Onyx, eventually led to a number of searches, including one at Silva's home in December 2022 that found two kilograms of cocaine in his garage and thousands of dollars in cash.

Just over $7,000 of that money was seized by the civil property forfeiture unit, court heard.

Project Onyx began in summer 2021, after police got information from confidential informants about a high-level, Manitoba-based drug trafficking network run by two "close criminal associates" that was importing large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine into Manitoba, court heard.

The investigation involved a number of warrants that allowed police to covertly enter homes, vehicles and luggage, intercept more than 19,000 private communications, install video surveillance in homes, stash houses and vehicles and track cellphones.

It led to the arrest of 13 people, as police seized several luxury vehicles and confiscated more than 75 kilograms of illegal drugs they said were part of a network that imported large amounts of cocaine from Ontario and methamphetamine and MDMA from British Columbia.

Court heard previously the bagel shop is now owned entirely by Silva's partner, whose charges were stayed after she was arrested as part of the investigation in February 2023.

Silva is expected to be sentenced by a judge on Feb. 12. Prosecutor Elgert said the Crown plans to stay the other charges against him at that point.