Canadian law enforcement has arrested an Indo-Canadian trucker for attempting to allegedly smuggle drugs worth over CA$50 million into the country.
The driver of the commercial truck, who was apprehended on January 14, was identified as 29-year-old Komalpreet Sidhu, resident of Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba.
In a release on Wednesday, the Canada Border Services Agency or CBSA said its officers discovered and seized 406.2 kg of suspected methamphetamine, approximately four million illicit doses valued at over CA$50,780,000, following the examination of a commercial truck at the Boissevain port of entry in southern Manitoba.
“This is the largest seizure of illegal narcotics to occur in the Prairie Region. The driver was carrying a shipment destined for Winnipeg,” the release said. The Prairie region encompasses the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Sidhu was charged with importation of Methamphetamine and Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking. He is expected to appear in Manitoba Law Courts on Thursday.
“This substantial seizure by the Canada Border Services Agency means that approximately 4 million illicit methamphetamine doses will not reach our streets and takes away over 50 million dollars from the hands of organized crime networks and local drug traffickers. These drugs were destined not only for the streets of Winnipeg, but throughout Manitoba and beyond,” Inspector Joe Telus of the Manitoba detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Federal Policing division said.
This is the latest instance of an Indo-Canadian trucker being arrested in connection with alleged smuggling of narcotics into the country. On Tuesday, police announced that five persons including three Indo-Canadians will be extradited to the United States after a joint operation between Canadian and American law enforcement resulted in busting an alleged narcotics trafficking network.
{{/usCountry}}This is the latest instance of an Indo-Canadian trucker being arrested in connection with alleged smuggling of narcotics into the country. On Tuesday, police announced that five persons including three Indo-Canadians will be extradited to the United States after a joint operation between Canadian and American law enforcement resulted in busting an alleged narcotics trafficking network.
{{/usCountry}}The operation, called Dead Hand, was undertaken between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit or CFSEU unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP.
In a release on Tuesday, the RCMP said It “arrested five individuals allegedly linked to a network trafficking drugs between Mexico, the United States and Canada. They were arrested under an international arrest warrant and will be extradited for trial in the United States.”
They were identified as Ivan Gravel Gonzalez, 32, of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Roberto Scoppa, 55, of Montréal, Ayush Sharma, 25, of Brampton, Guramrit Sidhu, 60, of Brampton and Subham Kumar, 29, of Calgary.
On January 10, Canadian police announced they had arrested and charged 35-year-old Sukhwinder Dhanju, resident of Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area, for attempting to smuggle into the country cocaine worth approximately CA$ 6.5 million.
On December 4, they caught Manpreet Singh, 27, also a resident of Brampton, after the truck he was driving was found to be carrying boxes containing 52 kg of suspected cocaine.