Sarnia border has become a key route for drug trafficking between US and Canada. (Photo: The Observer)
Two truck drivers, believed to be of Indian origin, were arrested in Canada on charges of smuggling millions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs across the US-Canada border at Michigan-Sarnia. Karan Owaan, 24, from Kingston and Gagandeep Singh Gharil, 32, from Brampton were arrested on October 18 and were charged with importing methamphetamine into Canada and possessing the same drug for the purpose of trafficking.But one of them is already out on bail, the report said, adding that the reason why Owaan was granted bail has been protected by a temporary publication ban. His case will return to the court early December. Owaan was granted $85,000 bail, was made to wear a GPS tracker and his sureties had to pay a $30,000 deposit. Out on bail, he will be living with two sureties in Brampton under house arrest and is barred from speaking with his co-accused. “He has to surrender all passports and travel documents to the RCMP and can’t apply for new ones. He also can’t be within 100 metres of an airport or an international border or use any electronic devices to go on the internet unless he’s being supervised by his sureties,” the report said, specifying the bail conditions. Gharil remains in custody with a bail hearing coming up on Nov. 17.
Two Indian-origin truckers get 10 years for cocaine smuggling
In October, two Indian-origin truck drivers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for smuggling cocaine valued at $11 million into Canada three years ago. Vikram Dutta, 44, and Gurinder Singh, 61, of Brampton, were charged with importing cocaine and possessing cocaine for trafficking after border officers found 115 kilograms of cocaine in a truck at the bridge linking Michigan and the Sarnia area on Dec. 11, 2022.The Sarnia border connecting Michigan’s Port Huron and Ontario’s Sarnia has become a key route for drug trafficking.
