Dozens of criminal prosecutions could be affected by allegations a Toronto detective was caught with drugs following a drunken vehicle pursuit that left two police officers injured, according to records obtained by CBC News.
Det. Const. Brian Sukhram spent several years investigating the narcotics trade for the Toronto Police Service’s drug squad and other units, making undercover buys and handling contraband before he was arrested in Peel Region last year and charged with possession of cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
Criminal defence lawyers consulted by CBC News say Sukhram’s background, and the charges against him, will seriously impact cases linked to the veteran officer.
“When it comes to anything to do with drugs, he’s obviously lost all credibility and reliability,” said defence lawyer Alison Craig. “If he’s a key witness, the Crown … is going to have to end the prosecution.”
Sukhram declined comment through a Toronto Police Association spokesperson.
Documents released to CBC News in response to an access to information request support Craig’s assertion and reveal federal prosecutors spent weeks analyzing cases linked to Sukhram, sharing spreadsheets of files, which were redacted before their release.
Officials in the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which focuses heavily on drug investigations, began reviewing files linked to Sukhram as news of his arrest spread on July 4, 2024.
Around 9:45 that morning, federal prosecutor Tanit Gilliam asked a co-worker for information on cases linked to Sukhram. Shortly before 10 a.m., the co-worker shared a spreadsheet that appeared to list 30 files, all flagged as “active.”
Gilliam later told a colleague in an email that “approximately 30 cases … are impacted.”
“We have been in contact with professional standards, and will start looking at our files to assess for RPC and PI,” she said in another message, using acronyms for “reasonable prospect of conviction” and “public interest” and referring to the professional standards unit, a team of officers who investigate misconduct allegations against their fellow officers.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) levied new charges against Sukhram in June 2025: theft of over $5,000 worth of methamphetamine, theft of erectile dysfunction medication, obstruction of justice, and breach of trust. The latter two charges are connected to alleged theft of “evidence in a criminal investigation,” according to a court record reviewed by CBC News. The document alleges all four offences occurred “on or between” July 2 and 3, 2024. The OPP says the charges are linked to an “on-duty incident.”
Sukhram is one of several Toronto officers who have been accused of, or admitted to, stealing and consuming illegal drugs in recent years. Defence lawyer Reid Rusonik, who supports widespread drug legalization, said his clients often complain about police theft of drugs and money.
“It corrupts everybody,” he said of aggressive anti-drug policing.
CBC News obtained Sukhram’s curriculum vitae, which was filed in a drug prosecution where the officer gave expert testimony. In the document, Sukhram said he completed “drug expert training” and courses on search warrants and working in plainclothes. He also noted experience as an exhibit officer.
“They’re the one that handles all of the items that are seized during an investigation,” Craig said. “The prosecutions where he was the exhibit officer, I think, are the ones that are probably most in danger.”
Sukhram began as a “primary response” officer in Toronto’s west end in 2011 and rose to claim a spot on the drug squad in 2019. According to his CV, Sukhram purchased illegal drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, roughly 50 times while undercover.
In a section highlighting his work with the drug squad, Sukhram also said he had worked on “over 100 drug investigations, which mainly utilized officers acting in an undercover capacity.”
Craig says Sukhram’s experience applying for search warrants, which requires an officer to provide an explanation of why a judicial official should give police authority for a search, are now cause for concern.
“I would be very concerned about whether there was information in the information to obtain that wasn’t true, or that was exaggerated — that grounds were fabricated,” Craig said.
“If he really wanted access to drugs, who knows what he would have put in an ITO to get it?”
The charges against Sukhram could open the door for criminal appeals, Rusonik said.
A PPSC spokesperson declined to provide an updated figure for the number of cases impacted by allegations against Sukhram.
Most of the dozens of defence lawyers contacted by CBC News knew little to nothing about Sukhram, and none shared knowledge of criminal charges being withdrawn or stayed as a direct result of his pending charges.
The case began on July 3, 2024, when Peel Regional Police (PRP) pursued Sukhram, who was driving a Honda sedan with “significant frontal damage.” The vehicle was unmarked and had been leased by the Toronto police for surveillance, acting Peel Sgt. Tyler Bell-Morena told CBC News.
Two officers sustained minor injuries “during vehicle to vehicle contact” and “at least four PRP cruisers were damaged,” Bell-Morena said in an email. Police charged Sukhram with failing to stop after an accident, failing to stop while being pursued by a peace officer, impaired driving, and other offences.
The TPS professional standards unit began investigating Sukhram that same day. In January, the service asked the OPP to take over.
The OPP executed search warrants as part of their investigation, but spokesperson Gosia Puzio declined to provide additional information.
Sukhram was suspended with pay following his first arrest. The service cut off his pay last September.
Sukhram is scheduled to stand trial on his 2024 charges in April 2026.
The OPP investigation continues.
