A police officer choked up Monday in a Kitchener courtroom as he explained how the largest fentanyl bust in the history of Waterloo Region landed him in hospital.

Sgt. Ben Handfield took the stand during a sentencing hearing for Erin Vezina, who has pleaded guilty to various offences relating to drugs and weapons.

Vezina was arrested in January, following a year-long surveillance operation which was the result of more than 20 tips.

When he was arrested, he had 11.5 grams of fentanyl on him.

Handfield was in charge of handling those drugs and other evidence. Somehow, the fentanyl seeped through multiple plastic bags and a toolbox in the back of Handfield’s vehicle.

Within seconds of driving away, Handfield became nauseous and disoriented.

“I vaguely remember I felt like I was going to pass out and hit the car in front of me,” he told the court.

Instead, Handfield pulled over to the side of the road and called for an ambulance. He called the experience the most traumatic thing that had happened to him during his 21-year policing career.

More than 150 grams of fentanyl-heroin was found in Vezina’s home, along with a sizable amount of marijuana. All told, the drugs seized by police had an estimated street value of more than $80,000.

The sentencing hearing continues Tuesday. The Crown is expected to seek a prison sentence of 15 or 16 years.