Search of J-Tornado defendant's home turned up no drugs, but piles of cash

A day-long search of Shane Williams' home following his arrest on drug charges in 2014 turned up bundles of cash and fourfirearms, but no cocaine court heard on Tuesday.

"You were there 14 hours?" Williams' defence lawyer, Brian Munro, asked RCMP Staff Sgt. Luc Breton.

"Yes," said Breton, who was among several officers on hand to arrest Williams and search his property.

"Did you find any drugs?"

"No," he said.

Williams, 34, and Joshua Kindred, 39, have been on trial since April on drug possession, trafficking and conspiracy charges.

They were among 28 arrested by police on Sept.10, 2014 as part of what police called Operation J-Tornado, a three-year long investigation into drug trafficking in New Brunswick.

Staff Sgt.Breton said he was not involved in the investigation, but was called in at the end to assist in the mass arrests.

Police greetedby young son

He, along with other RCMP officers and police from the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force, arrived at Williams' Smithtown home just after 6:15 a.m. and were greeted at the door by a young boy, one of Williams' two sons.

Breton said Williams' wife, and then Williams himself, came down the stairs as police flooded the home.

"They were very co-operative," he said.

Breton conducted a search of the master bedroom and told court he found four bundles of cash, a loaded revolver and a BlackBerry cellphone.

Separate charges for firearms

Elsewhere in the house police eventually found three other firearms and some months later charged Williams with unsafe storage violations, for which he is facing a separate trial.

Breton did not say if the BlackBerry phone recovered in Williams' bedroom is the one supplied to him by the RCMP undercover agent and former friend of Williams, hired to collect evidence against him.

Earlier evidence in the trial hassuggested Williams operated a BlackBerry cellphone with the code name "ferrarigang."

The trial has also heard that intercepted emails showed ferrarigang organized wholesale drug buys and oversaw distribution to lower level dealers.

Other officers who participated in the search of Williams' home are expected to testify further on the BlackBerrythatpolice seized there. The trial resumes Wednesday.