SARNIA, Canada (Diya TV) — An Indian truck driver on a Canadian work permit is on trial in Ontario after authorities accused him of transporting nearly $2 million worth of cocaine across the Canada-U.S. border.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about drug smuggling through major border crossings in southern Ontario, where officials have seized millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine in recent years.
The trial of 33-year-old Ranjit Singh began Monday in the Superior Court of Justice in Sarnia. Prosecutors allege Singh imported 40 kilograms of cocaine into Canada and possessed the drug for trafficking.
Authorities arrested Singh in April 2024 after Canada Border Services Agency officers inspected his commercial truck at the Blue Water Bridge border crossing near Sarnia. According to court testimony, officers found two Home Depot boxes containing cocaine inside the trailer. Investigators estimate the drugs had a street value of roughly $2 million. Singh has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defense lawyer Terry Brandon acknowledged that cocaine was inside the truck. However, she argued that Singh did not know the drugs were in the trailer.
“My client has no knowledge of what was in the trailer,” Brandon told the court.
The defense plans to challenge the prosecution’s claim that Singh knowingly transported the cocaine into Canada. The trial is expected to continue for three weeks.
Court testimony revealed that Singh completed a delivery in the United States before collecting pallets from three separate locations, according to RCMP investigator Const. Tai Lam, GPS records, and dashcam footage show Singh stopped at a Home Depot store in Illinois about four hours before crossing back into Canada.
Lam testified that Singh remained at the store for approximately 15 minutes. Prosecutors also presented evidence showing that Singh purchased at the store. Authorities recovered a receipt and related banking records during the investigation.
Investigators later discovered a flattened, unused Home Depot box under the mattress inside the truck’s cab. Officers also found packing tape and a duffel bag. Lam told the court that the two Home Depot boxes containing cocaine appeared different from the six commercial pallets loaded in the trailer. Most of those pallets contained Harry’s shaving products.
Canada Border Services Agency officers directed Singh to a secondary inspection shortly after 2 a.m. on April 26, 2024. The inspection took place at the Blue Water Bridge, one of Canada’s busiest commercial border crossings. During the search, officers located the cocaine concealed inside the boxes. The investigation later involved cooperation between the RCMP and U.S. Homeland Security officials. Lam testified that investigators retraced Singh’s route through the United States to gather additional evidence.
Court testimony also revealed that border authorities had placed a National Targeting Centre notice on Singh’s truck and trailer. The notice forms part of the CBSA’s risk-based screening system. Officials use the system to identify shipments that may require closer examination before entering Canada. Authorities have not publicly disclosed why the shipment received additional attention before the inspection.
Singh’s case represents only a small portion of the cocaine intercepted at Canada-U.S. border crossings in southern Ontario. CBSA data shows officers seized 1,514 kilograms of cocaine at seven southern Ontario ports of entry in 2024. The drugs carried an estimated street value exceeding $75 million. The figures include both imports and exports intercepted on the Canadian side of the border. The trend continued in 2025. Border officers seized 1,631 kilograms of cocaine, marking an increase of nearly 8% compared with the previous year.
However, recent figures suggest a slowdown in seizures. From Jan. 1 through April 30, 2026, authorities seized 111 kilograms of cocaine at southern Ontario border crossings. That total falls well below the monthly average recorded during the previous two years. The trial continues as prosecutors and defense lawyers present evidence surrounding one of the many drug-smuggling cases detected at the Canada-U.S. border. The court will hear testimony from RCMP officers, CBSA officials, and a Homeland Security special agent before reaching a verdict.
