Court transcripts state 33-year-old Maisum Ansari — who grew up in the same neighbourhood as Fahad Hussain, the brother of Greektown gunman Faisal Hussain — was charged last September with possessing 53 kilograms of carfentanil, an analog of fentanyl and 100 times stronger than the painkiller and notoriously deadly street narcotic.
Ansari was friends with both Hussain brothers.
An upstairs tenant of Ansari’s rented-out house called 911 after hearing what they believed was a carbon monoxide detector going off in the basement, said Justice Gregory Regis during Ansari’s 2017 bail hearing.
“Ansari told her, ‘Get rid of them,’ more than once,” Regis said in court, explaining Ansari told the tenant he didn’t want the fire department discovering the basement apartment wasn’t up to code.
Emergency crews found no signs that anyone had lived there, but instead discovered 33 guns — some loaded — as well as ammunition and a large amount of an unidentified, suspected illegal substance.
Ansari was released on consent on Sept. 26 with his wife, a real estate agent and his parents acting as sureties.
On Oct. 12, lab analysis determined the seized substance was 42 kilos of carfentanil, as well as 17 kilos of a cutting agent and caffeine — the largest such seizure of the synthetic opioid in Canadian history.
Cops then re-arrested Ansari and prosecutors vigorously sought his detention over the massive drug seizure, which police estimated was worth $20 million.
Regis instead ruled that Ansari should be freed, in order to maintain the public’s confidence in the administration of justice.
Ansari was the surety at the time for Fahad Hussain, who was accused of being a low-level crack dealer in Saskatoon in July 2015 and was awaiting trial.
“Ansari, Fahad and Faisal were all friends growing up in the same neighbourhood,” a source told the Sun. “Fahad decided to go out west, was arrested and then his friend Ansari came to his aid as his surety.”
Fahad has been in a persistent vegetative state in hospital with little brain activity after overdosing on a mixture of cocaine and heroin last summer, sources told the Sun.
Ansari’s lawyer Adam Newman asserts there was “no evidence linking his client” to the drugs. A second man, the basement tenant, has been charged in this case.
Ansari, a hard-working man, “has succeeded in his job, is now the Chief Operating Officer and board member of his workplace, has a family,” said Regis.
Ansari owns two houses, has strong roots in the community, has no criminal record and no history of breaching court orders, said Regis.
“I cannot dismiss the accused’s assertion that he was concerned about the Fire Code. I cannot. When I consider the totality of the evidence before me, that is entirely reasonable and possible,” said Regis.
Police are trying to investigate how Greektown shooter Faisal Hussain acquired his semi-automatic handgun.
The firearm used in Sunday’s attack was stolen from a legitimate Canadian owner — and not an American weapon as previously reported, sources told the Sun.
On Wednesday, CTV reported the firearm allegedly used by Hussain was stolen from Saskatoon.
The weapon cachet Ansari is accused of possessing are mostly American-originating firearms, sources told the Sun.
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