Man charged with trying to smuggle heroin through Trudeau airport

A 68-year-old man from a small town 700 kilometres north of Montreal has been charged with trying to smuggle more than seven kilograms of heroin into Canada through the airport in Dorval.

Maurice Nadeau appeared at the Montreal courthouse through a video conference on Friday after his arrest by the RCMP on Thursday. His lawyer asked that the charges filed against Nadeau not be read into the court record, so he was not required to enter a plea.

Nadeau was charged with importing heroin into Canada and with possession with the intent to traffic. He is alleged to have tried to smuggle the drug in through Trudeau airport on Thursday.

The smuggling charge carries a minimum two-year prison term upon conviction.

Nadeau, who has no criminal record in Quebec, is from Chapais, a town with a population of 1,600 close to Chibougamau.

A Quebec Court judge ordered he remain behind bars during the weekend. He is to have a formality hearing on Monday, possibly to set a date for a bail hearing.

It is rare to see someone be arrested in Montreal for allegedly smuggling such a large quantity of heroin. Precedent-setting decisions have come with lengthy sentences, from 12 to 20 years.

Serena Narinesingh, 33, from British Columbia, was caught trying to smuggle seven kilograms of heroin through Trudeau airport in 2015. She was sentenced in 2018 to an overall 15-year prison term.

Narinesingh was granted day parole on June 15. According to the decision by the Parole Board of Canada, she plans to ask the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of her case.