A Brampton man has been charged after Canadian border agents seized more than $23 million of cocaine at an Ontario border crossing.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said officers found the 161 bricks of cocaine, weighing 187 kilograms, hidden in boxes on a commercial truck coming in from the United States on June 12. The vehicle was stopped at the Blue Water Bridge border crossing in Point Edward, Ontario.
Border agents arrested Karamveer Singh, 27, and said they handed him over to the RCMP. Singh is now facing charges for importing cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
“This is the fourth time a significant amount of cocaine coming from the United States was seized at the Blue Water Bridge this year, demonstrating the excellent work being done by our border services officers and their effectiveness in safeguarding our borders,” said An Nguyen, director of CBSA’s St. Clair District Operations.
CBSA said the investigation was ongoing.
The agency said that a total of 978 kilograms of cocaine have been seized at Southern Ontario ports of entry so far this year.
At the same border crossing earlier this year, CBSA seized $11 million worth of cocaine being shipped into the country.
The seizure was part of Operation Blizzard, a joint effort between the CBSA and RCMP to stop drugs from crossing the Canada–U.S. border.
The drugs were seized in two separate incidents, CBSA said. In the first incident, border agents found 86 kilograms of cocaine in four duffle bags on a commercial truck coming from the United States in February. The estimated street value of the drugs was $2.3 million.
CBSA said its officers found another 333 kilograms of suspected cocaine on a tractor-trailer from the United States during an incident in early March. The drugs had an estimated street value of $9 million, CBSA said.
Two men were charged as a result of the seizure, including Pawandeep Dhillon, 34, from Innisfil, Ontario, and Ravinderbir Singh, 23, from Brampton.
Another partnership between the CBSA and RCMP saw the dismantling of a major transnational criminal network that had been trafficking cocaine into the Greater Toronto area using commercial trucks.
The year-long investigation run by Peel Regional Police began in June 2024, and was called Project Pelican. As a result of its work, 479 kilograms of cocaine were seized. The drugs were estimated to have a street value of $47.9 million. Nine people were also arrested in the operation.
