Trucker accused of smuggling cocaine at Blue Water Bridge
In at least the 14th such bust since 2021, another truck driver accused of smuggling illegal drugs worth millions of dollars into Canada was recently arrested at the Blue Water Bridge.
Little information about the incident was available Tuesday other than a person was arrested March 1 at the twin-span bridge connecting Michigan and the Sarnia area after Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers discovered cocaine, court records show.
Stepan Bardouk, 37, of Toronto, is facing charges of importing cocaine and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, court documents say. He was transferred to Lambton OPP that Friday and held at headquarters in Petrolia overnight before making a court appearance through a video link.
The case was adjourned and Bardouk was moved to the Sarnia Jail. He's made a handful of brief court appearances from there since then, including on Tuesday, when his lawyer asked for the case to come back next week as he awaits disclosure of evidence from the Crown and sets up a bail hearing.
A CBSA spokesperson didn't provide additional information about the incident by press time Tuesday and an RCMP spokesperson said they can't comment on the case.
Bardouk is at least the 15th person — all but one of them truckers — accused of smuggling illegal drugs into Canada over the twinspan bridge since 2019. Most of the cases involved cocaine, but border officers have also seized heroin and methamphetamine.
The majority of the accused, mostly Ontario and Quebec residents between ages 23 and 68, have been granted bail. The most recent arrest, a Brampton trucker facing smuggling charges in an alleged $1.3-million cocaine bust, was recently denied bail.