Man accused of smuggling drugs ordered to stand trial

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on December 14, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Calgary man accused of trying to smuggle millions of dollars worth of drugs into Alberta has been ordered to stand trial.
After hearing evidence on day one of a scheduled two-day preliminary hearing last week in Lethbridge provincial court, Calgary lawyer Allan Fay consented to have his client, 39-year-old Amarpreet Singh Sandhu, stand trial. Judge Paul Pharo then ordered the accused to stand trial on charges of drug smuggling and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The matter is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 10, 2022 in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.
The charges relate to a record haul of methamphetamine officers with the Canada Border Services Agency uncovered at the Coutts border on Christmas Day of last year.
Officers referred a semi-truck hauling produce for further inspection, and while examining the shipment found 228 kilograms of methamphetamine. The CBSA reported the drugs were worth about $28.5 million on the street and are equivalent to 2.28 million individual dosages.
The agency said at the time, the bust was the largest seizure of methamphetamine at a land border crossing in Canada.
“It is because of CBSA officers’ diligence while screening essential goods that this record amount of methamphetamine did not reach our streets or cause harm to our communities,” Ben Tame, CBSA southern Alberta director, said in a news release following the drug bust.

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