Indian held on charges of smuggling drugs into US

Washington, June 30

Law enforcement officials have arrested an Indian national on the charges of driving down a truck — hidden with nearly 1,000 kg of marijuana worth $20 million — from Canada to the United States, an official said.

This is the third such arrest of an Indian national in less than a fortnight. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Prabjot Nagra, 26, was arrested as he attempted to enter the US at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry just before midnight on June 25. He was driving a commercial truck with a license plate of Ontario, Canada, the official said on Monday.

According to an electronic manifest, the truck was carrying a shipment of 55 storage container.

The commercial truck was referred to the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System for a non-intrusive X-ray exam. The X-ray showed inconsistencies of the cargo within the entire trailer.

As a result, the truck was referred to the Peace Bridge warehouse loading dock for physical examination.

During the physical exam of the crates, Customs and Border Protection Officers recovered multiple packages of vacuum sealed bags containing a green leafy substance, which field tested positive for the presence of marijuana.

Approximately 8,320 vacuum-sealed packages of suspected marijuana weighing approximately 9,472 pounds were removed from the original shipment containers, the official added. — PTI