RCMP officer says he didn't give guidance on Meng's border exam

Photo: The Canadian Press

Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Meng Wanzhou arrives at B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on November 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The RCMP officer who took custody of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's electronic devices on the day of her arrest two years ago says foreign law enforcement never asked him to obtain the passcodes or search the devices.

Const. Gurvinder Dhaliwal says American officials asked that Meng's devices be seized and stored in special bags to prevent remote erasure, which he says he considered a reasonable request.

Meng was arrested at Vancouver's airport in December 2018, nearly three hours after Canada Border Services Agency officials began questioning her as part of a border exam.

Dhaliwal testified during an evidence-gathering hearing today at B.C. Supreme Court that he never asked officers from border services to obtain the passcodes or ask any particular questions during Meng's immigration exam.

Meng is wanted in the United States on fraud charges based on allegations related to American sanctions against Iran that both she and Chinese tech giant Huawei deny.

Her lawyers are collecting information they hope will support their allegation that Canadian officers improperly gathered evidence under the guise of a routine border exam.