A truck driver was arrested and charged after border officers seized over $11 million worth of cocaine after it entered Canada from the U.S. via Buffalo, New York, authorities said Thursday.
Pardeep Singh, 24, of LaSalle, Quebec, was arrested on June 15 after a secondary inspection on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge, which links Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo.
Canada Border Services Agency officers discovered five duffel bags containing almost 250 pounds of cocaine, according to a joint statement from the CBSA and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
It was not immediately clear if the drugs were found in the cab or the trailer.
The Peace Bridge has been a common site of major drug seizures from commercial trucks at the U.S.-Canada border since it closed for nonessential travel in March 2020. However, most have occurred on the U.S. side, involving loads of marijuana coming from Canada.
Cocaine and methamphetamine account for the lion’s share of the drugs being smuggled from the U.S. to Canada via truck.
In June, Toronto police announced they had taken down a cross-border drug-smuggling ring that utilized secret compartments installed in the truck cabs. Police said the compartments couldn’t be penetrated by X-ray scanners at the U.S.-Canada border.
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