Canadian border officials in Manitoba estimate the approximate four million illicit doses are the largest narcotic seizure in Prairie history.
The highly additive synthetic drug was discovered in 200 individually wrapped packages in duffle bags in a commercial semi-trailer.
The truck was searched at 10 a.m. on January 14 at the Boissevain/North Dakota border crossing, Ken MacGregor, with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) told a news conference Wednesday.
The semi-trailer was en route to Winnipeg, 270 kilometres away. It has been linked to a Manitoba commercial trucking company where the driver may have been employed.
“These drugs were destined not only for the streets of Winnipeg but throughout Manitoba and beyond,” said Insp. Joe Telus, division intelligence officer with RCMP federal policing.
They came from the US and would have likely been distributed across Manitoba and possibly throughout Western Canada and Ontario.
The shipment’s size indicates the transport involved organized crime at the local, national and international level, said Telus.
“There’s no doubt this shipment would have inflicted significant harm to our communities.”
“Large illicit drug shipments such as this one and the subsequent distribution of these drugs is closely associated with increased violence in our communities, as street gangs and organized crime networks fight over territory and who gets to sell to the users,” said Telus.
MacGregor said CBSA utilizes “risk assessment” for commercial loads coming into Canada. The truck was selected for further inspection when it rolled up to the port.
Authorities are trying to determine where the drugs originated from.
“We have to work backwards. We need to find out exactly where it came from and what they intended to do with it,” said Telus.
The 29-year-old driver, Winnipeg’s Komalpreet Sidhu, was arrested and taken into custody.
Sidhu faces charges of importation of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
He’s expected to appear in court February 1.
