COMMERCIAL truck driver Kareshmaa Kaur Jagroop, 42, of Ontario admitted to a cocaine trafficking crime after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found approximately 30 kilograms of cocaine in watermelon pallets as she was attempting to enter Canada at the Montana border in July 2021, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said this week.
According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Montana, Jagroop pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine as charged in a superseding information. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The court set sentencing for May 23. Jagroop was released on conditions to a treatment center in Montana pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that in July 2021, a commercial truck was northbound on Interstate 15 near the Sweetgrass Port of Entry in Toole County. As it approached the border in the outbound lane, Customs and Border Protection officers signaled the truck to stop, but the driver ignored the signal and continued past the outbound booth. Officers chased down the truck, which eventually stopped, and had the driver, Jagroop, reverse the truck back to the outbound booth for inspection.
As part of the inspection, Jagroop drove through a screening machine, which showed potential anomalies in the trailer. Officers conducted a manual search and unloaded the contents with a forklift. Officers removed two pallets of watermelons and saw a plastic bag that contained approximately 30 kilograms, which is about 66 pounds, of cocaine. During an interview, Jagroop told officers she entered the United States about one week prior to the stop and delivered produce to supermarkets in Oregon and California. She eventually admitted that she was hauling cocaine for a group in Canada, according to the press release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey K. Starnes is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
