Flurry of pot busts at the border

U.S. Customs inspectors working at Pacific Highway truck crossing seized 276 pounds of marijuana during a routine examination November 23. They discovered the marijuana concealed in large “hockey-style” duffel bags during a search of the sleeper compartment of a 1998 Freightliner tractor-truck. The driver, Joga Singh Gill, 37, a Canadian citizen from Vancouver, B.C., was arrested on federal charges of importation and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Seattle. The marijuana has an estimated local street value of $828,000.

Gill was driving a shipment of interlocking concrete pieces from Abbotsford, BC to San Jose, CA. The tractor, trailer and cargo were also seized. U.S. Customs service area port director, Peg Fearon, congratulated the Blaine inspectors involved in the seizure.

“This is a significant drug seizure in the commercial processing environment. Our inspectors’ vigilance has paid off again,” Fearon said. “We are maintaining a heightened anti-terrorism focus under Alert Level Yellow at all our ports. Increased narcotics seizures are a welcome by-product of our anti-terrorism efforts.”

Customs and the U.S. Border Patrol nabbed more southbound pot November 25, when a Customs plane observed a plane coming from Canada make several low-level passes across the border near Mount Baker and drop several duffel bags. The Border Patrol picked up 85 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $255,000 on the street. The Canadian pilot and a passenger were arrested when they returned to a Langley airport...

 

Back to Top