Gian Singh Sandhu, 29, was convicted of cocaine possession for the purpose of trafficking and importing drugs by a jury in Sarnia in November 2007. Justice John Desotti said the sentence was necessary to denounce and deter international drug smuggling. Sandhu was arrested July 25, 2003, at the Blue Water Bridge after three duffle bags containing 49 packages of cocaine were found in a transport truck sleeper compartment. The cocaine was described by one customs officer as the largest seizure in her 20-year career. It was 78-to-90 per cent pure and might have sold for $100 a gram on the street. Sandhu testified he knew nothing about the drug, but said a family member had travelled with him before he crossed the bridge. The trucker, a father of two young children, is a timid, docile person vulnerable to manipulation, according to a psychological report presented to the court. Drug couriers tend to be weak and vulnerable, federal prosecutor Michael Robb said during sentencing submissions. Desotti described Sandhu as “unsophisticated” and incapable of organizing the crime, but said such people are often used by traffickers. The sentence is a tragic outcome for a young man with no criminal record, he added.
Truck drivers are recruited because the volume of vehicles means few can be searched at the border for drugs. Loads of perishable produce are the most popular choice because they must be quickly processed, the court was told. Sandhu was hauling California strawberries. An OPP drug expert testified couriers can normally earn $1,000 for each kilogram smuggled.
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