CannaBlotter
While illegal cannabis smuggling has likely slowed down due to the trucker protests surrounding vaccine mandates in Canada, there is still plenty of illicit cannabis entering the US from our neighbors up north. Take a look at these “bust measurements” in Buffalo Niagara below.
$5 Million of cannabis seized at port of Buffalo
A commercial shipment disguised as “bathroom vanities” was intercepted at the Peace Bridge and taken for additional examination. Upon further investigation, US Customs & Border Protection agents discovered 2,302 packages of vacuum sealed cannabis with an estimated street value of $5 million.
$250,000 of cannabis found at Whirlpool State Park
A concerned citizen reported suspicious activity to the New York State Police while on a walk in Whirlpool State Park at 2 o’clock in the morning. The report described a man dragging large packages from the park. Police quickly arrived on the scene and contacted US Customs and Border Protection due to the proximity of the Canadian border. The suspect fled, and the packages were found to contain 118 lbs of cannabis, an estimated street value of $250,000. An air search was conducted of the area and the incident remains under investigation.
Father Helps Free Son of Wrongdoing in Cannabis Smuggling Case at Peace Bridge
Twenty-two year old truck driver Arshdeep Singh was pulled over at the Peace Bridge in 2020 and was found to be hauling nearly 1800 lbs of cannabis disguised as coffee makers. In the trial that followed, Singh’s father helped prove his innocence, by contacting the trucking company in Brampton, Ontario and requesting to review their security footage. The footage showed that a trailer unexpectedly left the shipping yard and returned a few hours later, before Singh picked it up and headed towards the border. Singh spent 8 months in custody before being released. Singh is the second indian truck driver to have criminal charges dropped after being arrested at the Peace Bridge in recent years. Twenty-six year old Prabjot Nagra was found to be transporting 9,472 lbs of cannabis hidden in a commercial shipment in mid 2020. With a street value estimated at more than $20 million, this was (at the time) the largest ever seizure of cannabis at the US-Canadian border.
Bust Measurements
Our predecessors at the Marijuana Review had a similar column called “Bust Measurements” which featured snippets about marijuana-related arrests from around the US. The column captured the appalling nature of cannabis prohibition during that time period, often highlighting large jail sentences that were imposed for possession or sale of minuscule amounts of cannabis.
Related: Cops and Pot: What Law Enforcement Thinks of Marijuana
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