An Ontario judge has sentenced a repeat LCBO thief to 12 months in prison, expressing profound doubt that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will ever deport him, despite a removal order that has been in place for nearly four years.
Judge Cites CBSA Inaction
Justice Michael K. Wendl of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said in a June 23 decision that he had no confidence CBSA would actually deport Manjeet Singh, a 30-year-old man who came to Canada in 2016 on a student visa and later lost his status. The removal order was issued in October 2022, but CBSA has taken no action.
“Put bluntly, a deportation order has been in place for nearly four years. During that time, he has been in custody on serious criminal charges, under which CBSA could have readily located and removed him, yet no action has been taken,” Wendl wrote.
The judge noted that Singh spent about 45 days in custody in 2024 and more than five months in 2025 on charges including robbery and theft over $5,000, yet was not removed either time.
Rejection of Joint Sentencing Proposal
The criticism came as Wendl rejected a 90-day sentence jointly proposed by the Crown and defense, which was based on the expectation that Singh would be deported after serving his time. Judges are generally required to accept joint sentencing submissions unless the proposed sentence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Wendl concluded that the 90-day deal would do exactly that.
“Ultimately, I have no confidence that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will actually deport (Manjeet) Singh,” Wendl said. He imposed 12 months for the theft counts and 60 days for breaching probation, to be served concurrently.
Details of the Thefts
Singh pleaded guilty to two counts of theft under $5,000 from the LCBO and one count of breaching probation by entering an LCBO. On June 3, 2025, he and two accomplices walked into an LCBO in Hamilton, filled a cart with 14 bottles of whisky, and left without paying. About 90 minutes later, they repeated the crime at a second LCBO in the city, taking 25 bottles of vodka and whisky. The total value of the stolen alcohol was $3,268.30, none of which was recovered.
At the time, Singh was barred from every LCBO in Ontario under a probation order stemming from prior convictions.
Pattern of Organized Theft
Wendl described Singh’s actions as part of an organized and systematic campaign targeting the LCBO. Singh has pleaded guilty to similar thefts from LCBOs and Home Depots in other jurisdictions and was already serving an eight-month sentence when Wendl sentenced him. The judge said Singh was traveling across the province targeting specific retailers.
“This is an organized and systematic campaign targeting LCBO with the intent of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of alcohol,” Wendl said. He emphasized that the LCBO is taxpayer-owned and its losses fall on every Ontarian. Canadian retailers lose more than $4 billion a year to crime, the judge noted.
Impact on Sentencing and Immigration
Wendl’s decision may have broader implications for how courts treat deportation at sentencing. He warned that going forward, “the bare assertion of potential immigration consequences, without supporting evidence, may no longer suffice for a court to find that collateral immigration consequences are established.”
Singh came to Canada in 2016 to study culinary arts and developed a drug addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the decision. His criminal record dates back to 2021, and he has been under a removal order since October 2022. The CBSA acknowledged a request for comment but did not respond by publication deadline.
Wendl concluded: “Organized theft from the LCBO will be severely sanctioned.”
