Global Courant
Article content
A 60-year-old California man is trapped after GPS instructions led him to the Niagara Falls border crossing with a car full of cannabis and cash.
Article content
RCMP reports that the “packaging style” is consistent with money laundering and drug trafficking. The man faces two charges under the federal Cannabis Act and one charge under the Criminal Code. He appeared before a justice in St. Catharines on Monday, but his next trial has not yet been scheduled.
Police estimate the cannabis to be worth between $362,000 and $724,000.
“The safety and security of Canadians is our government’s top priority. This seizure demonstrates the critical role the CBSA and RCMP play in preventing illegal contraband from entering our communities. Excellent work by both agencies,” Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said in a statement.
A similar incident occurred in 2020, when a 43-year-old Michigan woman was arrested after she took a wrong turn and ended up on the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan. The woman turned on the bridge and tried to re-enter the US where border officials discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen.
Article content
After apprehending the woman, officers recovered 2.3 pounds of gold bars and 30 grams of cannabis from the vehicle.
Customs and Border Patrol agents transferred custody of the woman, stolen vehicle, gold and cannabis to Michigan State Police for investigation.
It is illegal to bring cannabis — including edibles, extracts and topicals, and any products containing CBD — across the Canadian border, whether entering or leaving the country.
Penalties for cannabis-related border violations include fines of up to $2,000. The CBSA also maintains records of past enforcement actions, including fines.
For those entering the US, cannabis-related offenses can lead to a lifetime ban from the country, which was the case last November for a BC man who tried enters the US with a bottle of CBD oil in his car.
The man, who owns an events company that works with Christmas festivals in the US, said he put the CBD in his center console a few years ago and forgot about it. As a result, he was banned for life and fined $500.
The man can try to enter the US on a waiver, although the waivers are temporary, there’s no guarantee they’ll be approved, and they cost $585.
