With love from California … drugs being smuggled into Canada by South Asian truckers!

THE Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have announced another significant narcotics seizure at the Coutts, Alberta border crossing.

On December 17, CBSA officers intercepted a commercial vehicle hauling produce from California and destined for an Alberta business. While examining the vehicle, officers uncovered 17 bricks of suspected cocaine with a total weight of 21 kg. The bricks were located in a closet area within the cab.

CBSA officers arrested the driver of the vehicle and turned him and the suspected cocaine over to the RCMP.

Kuldeep Singh, 39, of Calgary is charged on four counts under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

“CBSA officers play a vital role in protecting our communities. We continue to diligently screen for narcotics, knowing that every interception at the border means fewer drugs on our streets,” said Guy Rook, Director for southern Alberta, CBSA.

“The success of this investigation is proof that collaboration and intelligence sharing with our law enforcement partners goes a long way in reducing criminal activity in our communities and keeping Albertans and Canadians safe,” said Superintendent Tim Head, Officer-in-Charge, RCMP Federal Policing South, Calgary.

Had the suspected cocaine seized been street-ready, it would have been enough for over 20,000 hits.

Just weeks prior to this incident, CBSA officers at Coutts seized nearly 100 kg suspected cocaine from another commercial vehicle hauling produce. On December 4, the RCMP charged Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, of California and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, of California on four counts each under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The CBSA has a suite of detection tools and technology used to intercept narcotics, including ion mobility spectrometry, detector dogs, X-rays, and Narcotic Identification Kits. These tools, in combination with officers’ knowledge, experience, and training, enable successful enforcement actions.

IN another case, Kamaljit Singh Atwal, 43, of Surrey was arrested after suspected “doda” was seized at Alberta’s Regway port of entry, the CBSA and RCMP announced earlier this month.

CBSA officers intercepted a commercial vehicle hauling produce from California destined for Regina. While examining the vehicle, officers uncovered 694 grams of suspected doda in the vehicle cab.

Doda is a powdered opiate made from crushed opium poppy pods.

The driver of the truck was arrested and turned over to the Radville RCMP. On December 4, the RCMP charged Atwal on one count under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Doda is an addictive substance and has the potential to be harmful when ingested.

Opium poppy and its derivatives are included in Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Only licensed dealers under the Narcotic Control Regulations are allowed to import or export opium with a valid permit.