Half tonne of cocaine seized at Canada border leads to charges for pair from Mississauga and Brampton

Bricks of cocaine worth some $2 million were found in a truck at an Ontario border crossing last summer leading to charges for a trucker from Brampton and an alleged conspirator from Mississauga, according to reports.

The international drug bust happened last April when a transport truck crossing the Blue Water Bridge into Ontario from Michigan was found with more than half a tonne of cocaine packaged in bricks, the London Free Press reports.

The illegal load was worth between $1.2 million and $2 million, leading the RCMP to charge a 30-year-old Mississauga man with unlawful import- and drug trafficking-related offences.

Now, more than a year after the drug bust, a 43-year-old man from Brampton has also been charged with trafficking, import and conspiracy offences in connection with the seizure, according to reports.

The accused from Brampton allegedly conspired with the Mississauga driver to import cocaine into Canada between February and April 15 of last year, and the charges were reportedly dated April 11, 2023 – the same day of the Blue Water Bridge bust.

Both Lakhan Singh, 30, of Mississauga and Harpreet Malhi, 43, of Brampton, have been reportedly charged, with Malhi scheduled to attend a bail hearing on Monday.

Large seizures at the Blue Water Bridge are not uncommon, like in the case of a Brampton truck driver charged after allegedly trying to smuggle 52 kilograms of suspected cocaine into Canada in December.

Fines were also laid against two truckers including one from Brampton after smuggling more than $14,000 worth of alcohol into Canada last summer.