Trucker sent to prison for 10 years for importing cocaine worth $5.4M into Canada from the United States

Trucker sent to prison for 10 years for importing cocaine worth $5.4M into Canada from the United States.

Jasbir Singh, 43, from Paris, Ont., previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of importing an illegal substance.

Court learned on the evening of April 17, 2023, Singh’s truck was sent to secondary inspection at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor-Detroit.

Officers found 40 bricks — each weighing one kilogram — on the cubby over the bunkbed of the truck.

The bricks, the prosecution says, were in plain sight and not concealed.

Under the bed, officers also found 20 bricks of cocaine hidden in a box.

The crown says the drugs were worth C$5.4 million — at the gram or “street level” in 2023.

If sold by the kilogram, the prosecution says the drugs were worth C$3.4 million.

A courier, not a leader

Singh was referred in court as a courier but not a “directing mind” of the drug operation.

“Cocaine is not indigenous to Canada,” Justice J.P. Howard said Tuesday. “Absent the cocaine importer there would be no harm.”

Friends and family wrote letters of support for Singh to the court, describing him as devoted to his family and community.

He even helped newcomers to Canada assimilate to a new life in this country.

They told the court importing the drugs was “a one off” and “totally out of character”.

The court gave Singh credit for his guilty plea, his genuine show of remorse in the pre-sentence report and support of his family.

He was not given as much credit for his strict bail conditions on house arrest as his lawyer wanted.

Singh declined to say anything to Justice Howard before he said goodbye to his family, and was taken into custody to begin his 10-year sentence in prison.