TORONTO: An Indian-origin truck driver has been convicted by a Canada court for importing cocaine concealed inside his trailer, following the seizure of 40 kilograms of the drug at a border crossing in 2024.
Ranjit Singh (33) was found guilty on both charges for importing cocaine and possessing it for the purpose of trafficking reported by Ontario Superior Court Justice Scott Pratt on Monday (November 9).
The verdict followed a three-week trial held in Sarnia in June.
According to the court, Canadian border officers recovered cocaine packed in two cardboard boxes from Singh's truck at the Canadian end of the Blue Water Bridge on April 26, 2024. The seized consignment was estimated to be worth between $3.6 million and $4.8 million.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Singh had collected packages of cocaine from another truck at a Pilot Travel Centre in Channahon, Illinois. He subsequently purchased cardboard boxes from a Home Depot store in Shorewood and allegedly loaded the drugs onto his trailer at a yard on Sanders Road in Lansing, Michigan.
The prosecution further claimed that the cocaine-filled boxes were then hidden inside a pallet carrying other goods before the vehicle headed for the border.
Though Singh denied the allegations and maintained that he had no knowledge of the drugs being inside his trailer. While testifying before the court, he said that the owner of his company had asked him to purchase the cardboard boxes and leave them with another truck at the Michigan yard.
He also told the court that he had left his vehicle unattended for around 10 to 15 minutes to use the bathroom after noticing a stranger at the site.
Justice Pratt rejected the explanation as the citing provided were inconsistent in the testimony. The judge said he was satisfied Singh most likely collected the cocaine from another driver at the Illinois travel centre, as the prosecution had argued, though he added that the exact moment of the handover was not decisive. What mattered, the judge said, was that the drugs were inside the trailer when Singh crossed into Canada and that he knew it.
The judge further observed that the precise moment when the drugs were handed over was not crucial to the case. Instead, the key consideration was that the cocaine was inside Singh's trailer when he crossed into Canada and that he was aware of its presence.
Singh, who was released on a bail of $200,000 in early May 2024, remains out of custody. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February.
(With inputs from media agencies)