Pubdate: Wed, 10 Nov 2004
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: The Windsor Star 2004
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Doug Schmidt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

DRUG BUSTS KEEP CUSTOMS HOPPING

WINDSOR, SARNIA CROSSINGS - Millions of dollars in pot and other illegal 
narcotics were seized in what one U.S. Customs enforcement official 
described as a "crazy" weekend of drug busts at the Windsor and Sarnia 
border crossings.

Among the seized drugs was close to a tonne of high-grade B.C. bud worth 
almost $9 million US found hidden inside a tractor-trailer load of Toronto 
garbage.

The truck crossed the Blue Water Bridge early Saturday.

"This was a significant seizure weekend," U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) spokesman Greg Palmore said.

Two Ontario truckers appeared in U.S. federal court in Detroit Tuesday, 
accused separately of attempting to smuggle large quantities of marijuana 
across the border.

Both commercial vehicle operators were nabbed by ICE agents, alerted by 
other border officials to the suspicious behaviour of the two men.

On Saturday, shortly before 4 a.m., a tractor-trailer hauling Toronto 
garbage to the Carlton Farms landfill was attempting entry into Michigan at 
the Blue Water Bridge when the driver's nervous answers to questions 
sparked a more thorough probe.

U.S. Customs agents sifted through the load of solid waste and discovered 
about 35 duffle and plastic garbage bags filled with what Palmore said was 
1,855 pounds of high-grade British Columbia marijuana.

Surinder Pal Singh, 31, of Brampton, remains in U.S. custody after his 
detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday was adjourned until Friday. Palmore 
said Singh, an Indian citizen with Canadian landed immigrant status, will 
be formally indicted today.

Shortly before 9 a.m. on Sunday, U.S. Customs at the Ambassador Bridge 
discovered 105 pounds of marijuana in heat-sealed packages inside two large 
duffle bags and a backpack in the sleeping compartment of a 
tractor-trailer. The trailer contained a load of pork spareribs destined 
for Battle Creek, Mich.

Kevin Ward, 37, of Hawkesbury, east of Ottawa, was deported to Canada 
Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney's office has filed a criminal complaint in the 
matter.

Among the other local seizures over the weekend:

- - An American citizen was found with 12 pounds of marijuana hidden in his 
car's wheel well at the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.

- - Two U.S. citizens bound for Chicago with 10 pounds of pot in their car 
were arrested on the Detroit side of the border.

- - A Canadian woman was stopped at the Ambassador Bridge with 80 pounds of 
khat, a natural stimulant but controlled narcotic that is popular within 
some African communities. Palmore pegged its street value at about $136,000 US.

"This shows the need for a continued level of heightened awareness," said 
Palmore, adding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is continuing to 
investigate.

"When they start using tractor-trailers and hockey bags ... that tells me 
it's larger organizations (involved)," said Tony Pratapas, the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Administration's Ottawa-based attache to Canada.

The garbage truck pot seizure in Port Huron was a "significant" bust, said 
Pratapas, who added he's aware of at least three other such interrupted 
commercial garbage shipments "in the last year or so."

While not able to comment on specific cases, Canada Border Services Agency 
spokesman Danny Yen said drug smuggling is of concern on both sides of the 
border.

"We work very closely with domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies," 
he said.
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