A trial is underway for an accused fentanyl trafficker arrested during a high-risk 2015 drug raid in Yellowknife.

Fifty-year-old Hassen Abdul Kerim Mohamed, of Burnaby, B.C., faces charges of possessing fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

In April 2015, members of Yellowknife SA国际影视传媒檚 emergency response team used a battering ram to break down the door of a Finlayson Drive townhouse before storming the residence.

Inside, officers located Mohamed SA国际影视传媒� and a heap of drugs and cash. The townhouse leaseholder and target of the drug raid, William Castro from B.C., who dove headfirst through a second-floor window in a bid to avoid police during the raid SA国际影视传媒� was arrested and charged along with Mohamed.

After pleading guilty in December of 2015, Castro was sentenced to a six-year prison sentence for dealing cocaine, marijuana and fentanyl.

The major drug bust was touted by police as having a SA国际影视传媒渟ignificant impact on the safety of the community,SA国际影视传媒� by disrupting the SA国际影视传媒渢rend of people temporarily setting up residence in Yellowknife to sell drugs,SA国际影视传媒� Sergeant Dean Riou stated at the time.

The raid that led to CastroSA国际影视传媒檚 hefty prison-term and MohamedSA国际影视传媒檚 charges has been the focus of the judge-alone trial so far, which began on Monday.

The anatomy of the minutes-long raid was dissected throughout the first two days of the trial.

The CrownSA国际影视传媒檚 first witness, former Yellowknife Mountie Sgt. Richard Brown, told the court he was part of the emergency response team that entered the Finlayson Drive townhouse three years ago.

After members deployed a handheld diversionary device with the pull of a grenade-like pin SA国际影视传媒� emitting a flash and a loud bang like a SA国际影视传媒渟hotgun blast " SA国际影视传媒� Brown testified he encountered Mohamed in the second-floor bathroom.

After handcuffing Mohamed, Brown said he saw a baggie filled with a white substance between the defendantSA国际影视传媒檚 legs.

BrownSA国际影视传媒檚 testimony about the bag found near the accused was supported by two other team members who took the stand to say they also saw the white substance-filled baggie.

MohamedSA国际影视传媒檚 lawyer, Jennifer Cunningham, cross-examined the officers about the procedure they followed while breaching the townhouse, shifting focus to the investigation that prompted the drug search warrant.

Under cross-examination, Brown told the court the raid had targeted Castro, their primary subject, and two others SA国际影视传媒搘ho were never charged. Mohamed, he said, wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 a target.

And as another investigator testified Tuesday, Mohamed wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 even on the SA国际影视传媒檚 radar until days before the search warrant was executed, when the accused showed up at the Finlayson Drive house while Castro was under surveillance.

The same witness testified the Finlayson Drive search warrant was prompted by another major find just hours earlier.

In an agreed statement of facts reviewed by Yellowknifer, began to monitor CastroSA国际影视传媒檚 activity at a storage locker on Kam Lake Road in early 2015. Police observed Castro enter the locker and leave multiple times over the span of two weeks. On April 15, 2015, conducted a covert search of the storage unit, seizing 538 grams of cocaine, 175 grams of powdered cocaine, 503 fentanyl tablets and cutting agent.

With fentanyl being found, the investigator said the Finlayson Drive raid became a matter of public safety, as they believed more pills could be at the home.

According to testimony Tuesday, more drugs were found inside the home Castro and Mohamed were in.

The investigator said he found fentanyl pills wrapped in bags atop a fridge. Inside the fridge, he testified, were bags of marijuana stored in the SA国际影视传媒渂utter compartmentSA国际影视传媒� and the vegetable crisper.

He said a search of a safe in what they believed was CastroSA国际影视传媒檚 room yielded large sums of cash and cocaine.

TuesdaySA国际影视传媒檚 final witness, Corp. James Strowbridge testified he located crack, a digital scale and more marijuana in the living room. Apart from pot-related paraphernalia, he said there were no signs of drug use.

Two other officers and an expert witness are set to be called to the stand by Crown prosecutor Duane Praught next as the trial continues Thursday.