Toronto police officer sentenced to four years for stealing seized drugs

A Toronto Police Service drug squad investigator was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to stealing drugs from police evidence.

Constable Brian Sukhram, 39, was arrested in July 2024 after crashing an unmarked police car into a construction site and continuing to drive erratically before being boxed in by multiple Peel Regional Police cruisers. Officers recovered a backpack from the passenger seat containing drugs — some in an official "TPS evidence" bag.

Sukhram pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, attempting to obstruct justice by stealing evidence, and breach of trust. He wept in court as he apologized. The conviction is the latest in a series of scandals enveloping Toronto police, which has faced intense scrutiny over corruption, racism, and sexual assault allegations in recent months.

Hours before his arrest on the evening of July 2, Sukhram had been part of a team executing a search warrant at a downtown Toronto apartment. Officers seized numerous drugs — GHB, MDMA, crystal meth, cocaine, methamphetamine tablets, Xanax, Adderall, ketamine, steroids, and erectile dysfunction medication. After leaving the apartment at 7:48 p.m., Sukhram and other officers returned to the drug squad office to process the seizure.

At the office, according to court documents, Sukhram consumed alcohol. He left at 1:24 a.m. in plain clothes, wearing a black backpack, and got into the unmarked police vehicle. Roughly 800 metres from the station, he crashed into a construction site.

Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said Sukhram has been suspended without pay since his arrest. His badge has been taken and the force is moving to terminate his employment. Chief Myron Demkiw has instituted expanded accountability mechanisms since a major corruption bust in February that led to the arrest of seven active officers and one recently retired constable.