Canada Border Services Agency officers confiscated more than 100 kilograms of cocaine earlier this month from a commercial transport vehicle at the Coutts border crossing in southern Alberta.
Border officers seized approximately 108 kilograms of cocaine following a secondary examination of the vehicle that was attempting to enter Canada from the United States, the CBSA said in a March 20 press release.
The border agency said a Canadian was driving the vehicle, but its load originated from the United States.
Twenty-six-year-old Calgary resident Arshdeep Singh has been charged with importing a controlled substance and possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking in connection with the seizure.
Singh is scheduled to appear in a Lethbridge court on May 7.
The Integrated Border Enforcement Team in Alberta, a joint force operation between the RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region, CBSA, and Calgary Police Service are collaborating on the investigation.
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“Working together with our law enforcement partners is key to stopping drug trafficking,” Calgary Police Service Supt. Jeff Bell said in the release. “By intercepting these drugs, which came through the USA, we’ve kept harmful substances out of our communities and collectively made our cities safer.”
Other Drug Seizures at Coutts
The most recent incident is the latest in a string of drug seizures involving the Coutts border crossing. Coutts is the busiest crossing in Alberta and shares a border with Sweetgrass, Montana.
Nearly $3 million worth of methamphetamine and cocaine destined for Canada was seized at the border during two separate incidents in December and January.
The first seizure occurred on Christmas Eve 2024 when border officers discovered 186 kilograms of methamphetamine in a commercial truck, valued at approximately $1.86 million.
The second seizure occurred on Jan. 18 when officers found two cardboard boxes in a truck trailer containing multiple bricks of cocaine weighing 42 kilograms. The drugs had an estimated street value of more than $1 million.
The drivers of both vehicles were arrested and handed over to the RCMP.
Coutts border officers also discovered 189 kilograms of cocaine in a commercial truck in November with an approximate wholesale value of $2 million.
The drug seizures come at a time when the United States has initiated a trade war with Canada in part due to cross-border drug trafficking. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Canada of having lax border security, saying fentanyl is flowing into his country as a result.
Trump said he told then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this month that there hasn’t been enough done by Ottawa to address the issue.
White House senior counsellor Peter Navarro has dismissed accusations of the Trump administration launching a trade war against Canada.
“The president is fighting a drug war,” Navarro said on Feb. 4. “This is not a trade war.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said in a January press release that less than 0.2 percent of fentanyl seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection comes from Canada.
