Driver said he was unaware there was 90 kg of cocaine in his semi

A man accused of trying to smuggle more than 90 kilograms of cocaine into Alberta, says he didn’t know there were 83 packages of the narcotic hidden in the cab of the semi-tractor trailer in which he was travelling nearly two years ago.

“He didn’t know nothing about it,” a translater said Wednesday on the final day of Parmjeet Singh Sandhu’s criminal trial in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.

Sandhu and co-driver Jasmail Singh Sander were charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and drug importation after they tried to drive their commercial truck over the Coutts border Oct. 10, 2016.

During Monday’s hearing, court was told officers searched a semi truck and trailer from B.C. after it arrived at the border that morning. They searched a closet located in the truck’s sleeper where they found a black duffel bag containing packages of cocaine. The also found additional packages hidden behind the duffel bag, and 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.

According to agreed statement of facts submitted to the court, and testimony from the owner of the trucking company, another 17 packages of cocaine were found in the truck 10 months later.

Wednesday’s trial focused primarily on the events leading up to the border search when Sandhu and Sander were travelling through the U.S. on their way to Canada with a load of produce. Crown prosecutor Dennis Hrabcak reviewed Sandhu’s driving logs during the multi-day trip, during which the two men made several stops.

Hrabcak suggested Sandhu, 32, specifically asked to be the co-driver on the trip because the two men were planning on smuggling cocaine. Hrabcak also said the accused became sick at the border because he knew there were drugs in the truck and that he faced a lengthy jail term. Sandhu denied both suggestions.

The charges against Sander, 55, were stayed by the Crown after the co-accused died last June.

Although the trial concluded Wednesday, closing arguments by the Crown and defence were adjourned. The matter returns to court Monday when a date to hear the arguments may be set, possibly in late October. The judge’s decision will likely be heard some time after that.

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