At the Sweetgrass / Coutts border crossing into Alberta a transport truck was pulled over for secondary screening because the driver was on the CBSA radar as suspected of involvement in drug trafficking. During inspection the CBSA border officers came across 83 one-kilogram bundles of cocaine stashed in different locations within the cab area. The cocaine, valued at $5 million, was found behind the microwave, under a mattress, in a duffel bag and inside the two jockey boxes. Upon the truck being returned from the impound lot to the truck’s owner, there was a further 17 one-kilogram packages that had apparently not been found during inspection at the border. The 54-year-old driver was from British Columbia and the junior driver, 32 years old, resides in Ontario. The younger driver was new to Canada and to trucking, barely spoke English and needed a translator during the inspection, questioning and trial. Both drivers claimed that they were completely unaware of the cocaine being in the truck.
During the trial it was concluded that there was not enough hard evidence such as DNA or fingerprints to prove beyond reasonable doubt that these two drivers had anything to do with the placement of the cocaine in the truck. It was concluded that the younger driver’s charges of possession with the intent to traffic and importation of drugs into Canada were dismissed and the senior driver, 54, his charges were stopped due to his passing away. I chose not to identify names in this article out of respect to the families related to the death of one of the drivers.
For more information about this article or safety & compliance programs such as C-TPAT, FAST, PIP, TTP, AEO, CSA, please contact Cross Border Services at www.crossborderservices.org dawntruell@gmail.com.
Dawn Truell,
President, Cross Border Services
