Singh, who was released on $200,000 bail in early May 2024, will remain out on bail pending sentencing
12 November, 2026 – Chandigarh : An Ontario court has convicted a 33-year-old Indian-origin Sikh truck driver of importing nearly 40 kg cocaine worth up to $4.8 million into Canada through the Blue Water Bridge in April 2024.
Ranjit Singh was found guilty of importing a controlled substance and possessing it for the purpose of trafficking by Ontario Superior Court Justice Scott Pratt on Monday. The judge delivered the verdict after a three-week trial held in Sarnia in June.
Singh had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Justice Pratt said he did not believe Singh’s account, pointing to several inconsistencies in his testimony.
During the trial, the Crown alleged that Singh had collected bricks of cocaine from another truck at a Pilot Travel Centre in Channahon, Illinois.
He then allegedly bought cardboard boxes from a Home Depot store in Shorewood, Illinois, packed the drugs and loaded them onto his trailer at a yard on Sanders Road in Lansing, Michigan. The boxes were subsequently concealed within a pallet of other goods.
Singh denied the allegations, maintaining that though the cocaine was found in his trailer, he had neither been given the drugs nor did he know how they had ended up there.
He testified that his company owner had instructed him to buy the Home Depot boxes and leave them with another truck at the Michigan yard. He also told the court that he had seen an unidentified man there and left his truck unattended for 10 to 15 minutes while using the washroom.
However, the judge accepted the Crown’s case, saying he was satisfied that Singh had likely received the cocaine from another driver at the travel centre. He added that the precise time when Singh acquired the drugs was immaterial, as they were in his possession when he entered Canada and he knew they were inside the trailer.
Singh, who was released on $200,000 bail in early May 2024, will remain out on bail pending sentencing. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February.
The Tribune