THE Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Tuesday a significant seizure of cocaine at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry in Point Edward, Ontario.
On June 12, a commercial truck arrived from the United States at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry and was referred for a secondary examination. During the inspection of the trailer, border services officers, with the assistance of a detector dog, discovered 161 bricks of suspected cocaine contained in six boxes.
The total weight of the suspected narcotics was 187 kg, with an estimated street value of $23.3 million.
The CBSA arrested Karamveer Singh, 27, of Brampton, Ontario, and transferred him and the suspected narcotics to the custody of the RCMP. Singh has been charged by the RCMP with importation of cocaine, and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The investigation is ongoing.
To date this year, border services officers have seized a total of 978 kg of cocaine at Southern Ontario ports of entry.
Earlier this month, Ontario’s Peel Regional Police announced that working with national and international partners they had dismantled a transnational organized criminal network trafficking illicit drugs into the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The investigation was the largest drug seizure in the service’s history – with nearly $50 million worth of cocaine seized.
Between February and May, information from Peel Regional Police lead to:
- CBSA intercepting a commercial truck at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, which led to the seizure of 127 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the trailer and the arrest of the driver
- CBSA intercepting another truck at the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, which led to the seizure of 50 kilograms of cocaine hidden within the trailer and the arrest of the driver, with support from the RCMP.
Additional seizures were also made across the GTA in connection with commercial trucking by Peel Regional Police, some of which included individuals in possession of loaded firearms at the time of arrest
As of June 6, nine men were arrested and charged in connection with the investigation.
Seven of them were South Asians:
- Manpreet Singh, 44-year-old, Brampton
- Arvinder Powar, 29-year-old, Brampton
- Karamjit Singh, 36-year-old man, Caledon
- Gurtej Singh, 36-year-old man, Caledon
- Sartaj Singh 27-year-old man, Cambridge
- Shiv Onkar Singh, 31-year-old man, Georgetown
- Sajgith Yogendrarajah, 31-year-old, Toronto
