More than 90 kg of suspected drugs found in search, court told

Canada border officers found more than 90 kilograms of suspected cocaine during a search of a commercial vehicle nearly two years ago, a witness testified Monday during a drug-smuggling trial in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.

Crown witness Kyle Reindl, a border officer working at the Coutts port of entry Oct. 10, 2016, testified he and another officer searched a semi truck and trailer from B.C. when it arrived at the border that morning. While Reindl searched the cab of the truck, his partner searched a closet located in the truck’s sleeper where he found something in a black duffel bag.

That “something” appeared to be a kilogram bag of cocaine. Before the day was over, officers found 83 packages containing what they believed to be cocaine. The packages were hidden not only in the duffel bag, but behind it, as well as behind a microwave oven, under a mattress, in two cardboard boxes and in two “jockey boxes” or containers located on the driver and passenger sides of the semi.

“We searched the whole truck during the course of the examination,” Reindl testified.

The driver Jasmail Singh Sander, 55, and co-driver Parmjeet Singh Sandhu, 32, were both arrested and charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, and drug importation. The charges against Sander were later stayed by the Crown, and only Sandhu is on trial.

The trial is scheduled for seven days, but Federal Crown Prosecutor Dennis Hrabcak said during a break that an agreed statement of facts submitted to the court means the trial will likely not take as long as initially expected. According to the agreed statement of facts, another 17 packages of cocaine were found in the truck 10 months later.