Ferraris worth nearly $1M seized from Edmonton men linked to Pivot Airlines drug-smuggling scandal

Two Edmonton men at the centre of an international cocaine-trafficking scandal that led to the detainment of a Canadian airline crew in the Dominican Republic last year are back in the spotlight. They're facing numerous charges after police seized a pair of stolen Ferraris worth roughly $1 million. Pictured is one of the Ferraris. (W5)

Two Edmonton men at the centre of an international cocaine-trafficking scandal that led to the detainment of a Canadian airline crew in the Dominican Republic last year are back in the spotlight facing numerous charges after police seized a pair of stolen Ferraris — worth roughly $1 million.

RCMP charged 31-year-old Sheldon Gaspard Poirier and 35-year-old Vicky Mander after conducting a search warrant in an Edmonton-area home.

It was prompted after Edmonton police, on Sept. 12, seized the first Ferrari.

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A few days later RCMP executed a search warrant and seized a second Ferrari from an Edmonton-area property.

According to RCMP, the two high-end sports cars — a 2017 Ferrari 488 and a 2023 Ferrari F8 Tributo — had both been reported stolen in Ontario, had fraudulent Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) and were re-registered in Alberta.

W5 investigated Poirier and Mander

Poirier and Mander, a W5 investigation revealed, were central figures in a failed cocaine run aboard a Pivot Airlines flight in the Dominican Republic last year.

Just before takeoff, the charter airline crew discovered roughly 200 kgs. of cocaine onboard a flight destined to Toronto. The five crew members and seven passengers, which included Poirier, were jailed. The crew was eventually released from jail but detained in the Dominican Republic, under 24-hour armed guard. While they awaited trial, they were forced to move to multiple safehouses due to threats to their lives.

The W5 investigation showed that it was Trust Capital — a fake development company with a fake CEO — that had paid roughly $200,000 for a number of Pivot Airlines charters in 2022, including the ill-fated flight where the drugs were discovered in the Dominican Republic.

And it was Mander who wired roughly $150,000 in payments from Trust Capital to Pivot Airlines. He did not answer W5’s questions when confronted in Edmonton last year.

Poirier, who is well-known to police and has had a previous drug-related conviction, was supposedly an employee at Trust Capital. Many of the passengers of these charters also had past criminal involvement with drugs.

• W5 exposes the drug connections and money trail in the Pivot Airlines story
• 'So disturbing': Pivot Airlines crew shocked RCMP aware of possible cocaine shipment prior to Dominican bust

After nearly eight months, the crew and passengers eventually had their case in the Dominican Republic dropped. They returned to Canada last December.

But months after Poirier’s return from the Dominican Republic, he was tasered by police during an altercation in the parking lot of a hotel, according to an Edmonton Police Service incident report. He was charged with a number of firearms related offences for that incident.

For the latest incident involving the Ferraris, Poirier faces several charges including possession of property obtained by crime, illegal possession of government documents, possession of a weapon contrary to order, and fraudulent concealment. He remains in custody.

Vicky Mander has been charged with fraudulent concealment and uttering a forged document. He has been released.

Do you have any tips on this story? Please contact Avery Haines or Eric Szeto