New lawyer for drug suspects

A husband and wife accused of trying to smuggle drugs into Alberta in December have hired a new lawyer and will be back in court next month.

Calgary lawyers Kim Ross and Michael Oykhman were removed from the record Friday during a brief hearing Friday in Lethbridge provincial court. However, a new lawyer, Patrick Fagan of Calgary, has replaced them and will represent the accused, Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, of California when they return to court April 20.

The federal Crown prosecutor expressed concern that Fagan will represent both accused, but he agreed with the adjournment so the lawyer can review disclosure.

The couple is charged with two counts each of importing drugs and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

A man and woman hauling a commercial load of produce from California to Alberta were stopped at the Coutts border Dec. 2 of last year. Border officers searched the cab of the truck and found 84 bricks of suspected cocaine weighing 99.5 kilograms, considered the largest suspected cocaine seizure recorded by Canada Border Services Agency officers in Alberta's history.

The RCMP said the drugs seized are worth between $6.5 million and $8 million on the street depending on how they're broken down for sale. A media spokesperson for the CBSA said the drugs would provide on the street between 100,000 and 200,000 hits.

The driver and passenger of the commercial vehicle were arrested and turned over to the RCMP. Police reported the shipment was destined for the Calgary area, although the drugs likely would have been shipped to other provinces once they were processed.

Following their first court appearance Dec. 8, the husband and wife were released from custody on each posting $10,000 cash bail. They were ordered not to leave Alberta, to provide authorities with travel documents, report weekly and in person to the RCMP, live at a specific address in Edmonton, and not possess any weapons or explosives.