Three more people, including the head of a Brampton trucking firm, have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to import cocaine linked to a Blue Water Bridge drug bust officials have valued at more than $5 million.
Three more people, including the head of a Brampton trucking firm, have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to import cocaine linked to a Blue Water Bridge drug bust officials have valued at more than $5 million.
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Border officers on the Canadian side of the twin-span bridge connecting the Sarnia area and Michigan found about 460 kilograms – almost half a ton – of cocaine packaged in bricks in a trailer last week, an RCMP spokesperson said. The weight is approximate and includes the packaging, but the estimated street value – a conservative figure representing sale at the kilogram level – is $5.5 million, the spokesperson said.
The probe, which discovered the cocaine in 27 bags, started June 11 and continued into June 12, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson added.
Jasdeep Brar, 34, from Brampton was arrested and charged with importing cocaine and possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, court documents said.
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But three more people – Inderpreet Singh, 26, Manideep Singh, 26, and Beant Bhatti, 35, all from the Toronto area – were arrested this week and charged with the same two offenses along with an additional count of conspiracy to import cocaine, records show. Brar also is facing the conspiracy charge, which is dated from April 15 to June 15.
The RCMP declined to provide any additional information about the new accused and additional charge.
“There is nothing new to report on this investigation at the time, however, should there be an update we will be sharing it,” they said via email.
Bhatti is listed as the principal for Brampton-based Royal Bhatti Transport Inc. on the Dun and Bradstreet’s business directory website.
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The three new accused first appeared in Sarnia bail court Wednesday afternoon, including one by video link from RCMP headquarters in Toronto. They all were kept in custody and had their cases adjourned to Friday.
They all appeared in court again Friday, this time by video link from the Sarnia Jail. Inderpreet Singh and Manideep Singh were adjourned to Tuesday and Bhatti Wednesday, but Bhatti’s lawyer will have a lease conference for his client Tuesday.
A full-day bail hearing for Brar was held Thursday and will continue Monday, when justice of the peace Kelly Jackson is expected to give her decision. Everything said at the hearing and the reasons for her decision are covered by a publication ban that will be in effect until his trial is over.
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All four accused have been banned from talking to each other while in jail.
This is the third tractor-trailer drug smuggling case linked to the Canadian side of the Blue Water Bridge this year. Two drivers in their 30s, both from Toronto, were charged in March and April, respectively, also with importing cocaine. They both were granted lease, the latter for $200,000.
There have been at least 16 major drug busts – all but one involved trucks – on the Sarnia-area side since 2019. The majority of the cases were tied to cocaine, but border officers have also seized heroin and methamphetamine.
Most of the importing cases are still before the courts in Sarnia, although one trucker was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison and the lone non-trucker was also imprisoned 11 years.
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