A Surrey trucker has been sentenced to four years in prison for smuggling meth into Canada from the U.S. in 2018.
According to a news release issued by BC RCMP Monday (Aug. 15), the Canada Border Services Agency found 33 kg of methamphetamine after conducting a screening of a tractor-trailer on Nov. 18, 2018 at Pacific Highway Border Crossing.
The driver, Sarbjit Chahal, was arrested by the Federal Serious & Organized Crime Border Integrity Team.
After Health Canada concluded that the substance was 100 per cent pure methamphetamine, the Surrey trucker was charged with “import/export of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (PPT) a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA),” reads the release from Cpl. Arash Seyed.
Chahal’s jury trial ran from Nov. 22, 2021 to Dec. 3, 2021. In court, he “claimed that he knowingly committed the alleged offences while under duress after having received death threats from an individual who had asked him to act as a courier.”
The jury decided to convict Chahal on both counts. On July 22, he was sentenced at the New Westminster Supreme Court to serve four years in prison for the import/export charge and two-years-and-six-months in prison for PPT under the CDSA.
In addition, Chahal was issued a DNA order, forfeiture order and is prohibited from possessing a firearm for life.
To report a crime, contact your local police agency or call BC Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous at 800-222-8477.
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