Delta police have once again intercepted the re-selling of personal protection equipment.
On Tuesday, the department’s crime reduction unit arranged to make two bulk purchases of medical grade surgical masks through Craigslist.
In one case, officers arranged with one seller to buy 2,000 surgical masks for $1,600 and in a second case, to buy another 1,940 masks for $2,134.
DPD public affairs coordinator Cris Leykauf said neither transaction went as planned for the sellers who both received $500 bylaw tickets for operating a business with no business license.
She said both of the sellers were from the Lower Mainland area.
Back on April 2 and 3, police confiscated more than 5,300 masks and ticketed a person from Burnaby and Vancouver with $500 bylaw infractions.
Leykauf said in those two cases, the sellers willingly gave up the items and did not want them back, whereas in these latest incidents, the two sellers did not willingly give up the items and might dispute the bylaw infractions.
“This one is a bit more complicated because in this case the people did not voluntarily relinquish the masks. They were seized by police,” Leykauf told the Optimist. “People have the right, of course, to dispute a bylaw ticket, so depending on how that dispute goes, they potentially could have the ability to get these masks back.”
She said the dispute period is 14 days.
“We have to hold onto these for 14 days if that dispute happens,” she added. “They have the right to dispute the ticket and dispute the seizure, or one or the other. We have to honour that 14-day timeframe and after that, we will look at what agency we could pass the masks along too through the appropriate channels.”
Police Chief Neil Dubord said if the ticket is disputed, it would be handled through the City of Delta.
“A notice goes to the issuing officer to produce the notes related to the evidence to support the charge. The Screening Officer with the evidence in hand then calls the offender and goes over the case with the offender. If the offender believes the evidence would result in a conviction the fine can be paid,” added Dubord. “If the offender wants to go to an Adjudication Hearing a date is set up. The Adjudicator appointed by the province reviews the evidence and makes a finding.”
Dubord said the fines set by council cannot be changed and the evidence is considered based on a balance of probability. The offender can appear in person, or provide a written submission or request a phone call at the time of the hearing.
The process is established by way of Provincial Legislation and is binding, he said.
