‘A message must be sent’: 12 years in prison for 200kg methamphetamine seizure from trucker in Windsor

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A Brampton trucker who attempted for smuggling nearly 200 kilograms of methamphetamine into Canada – one of the largest such seizures ever made at the Windsor border – was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison.

Attempting to import such a large quantity of the highly addictive drug required a strong message of denunciation and deterrence, Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said in his sentencing decision.

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A Canadian citizen born in Somalia, Mohamed Ahmed Abdirahman, now 40, had no criminal record and was 38 years old at the time of his arrest at the Ambassador Bridge on December 24, 2019.

“Not all trucks can be subjected to a thorough inspection,” Thomas said. “North American trade is vital to our country’s economy.”

“A message needs to be sent to truck drivers who may be considering a quick profit through criminal importation. »

Following a trial, Abdirahman was found guilty in April of importation and possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.The judge noted by Abdirahman his close ties to his family and ethnic community, his continued employment since obtaining his truck driving license in 2015, and his role as sole provider for his wife and their children, aged 12 and 15.

Abdirahman was arrested on his third trip only after being hired by Hilton Transportation, a commercial carrier based in Brampton.

The illicit shipment of 200 packages of pure methamphetamine, stored in boxes and bins inside the cab of the tractor-trailer, was discovered by border services officers at the Ambassador Bridge on December 24, 2019.

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Depending on the sales method, authorities estimated the value of the illicit drugs between $29.4 million, based on sales per gram, and $4.5 million, based on sales per kilogram.

“I take it for granted that Mr. Abdirahman “I was taking this incredible risk in exchange for a significant financial reward,” Thomas said. “Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”

Thomas granted Abdirahman 180 days credit for 84 days of actual time served in pretrial detention. Abdirahmanwho attended Wednesday’s hearings, was informed that he had 11 years and 59 days left in prison to serve. He had already spent 51 months on bail, requiring him to report weekly to Peel Regional Police.

The Crown had sought a sentence of 16 to 18 years in prison. While the sentence is harsher for first-time offenders, federal drug prosecutor Richard Pollock argued that the high value and dangerous nature of the substance justified the sentence.

Arguing that longer sentences are reserved for those with more important roles than just a courier, defense lawyer Jessica Grbevski requested for 10 to 12 years.

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“There’s no question that a 12-year prison sentence has a deterrent effect on other drivers, other people who think they might get involved in this activity,” Pollock later told reporters outside the courthouse.

“It sends the right message.”

Abdirahman told border agents at the Ambassador Bridge that he was returning from California after spending nine days in the United States.

The investigation revealed that he had in fact been overseas for 14 days and that during that time he had left his truck near the Mexican border, crossed on foot and used the transportation service Uber. RCMP discovered more than 80 communications with a contact known as El Chapo in the three weeks before he crossed the border, including 14 calls made the day before on his seized cellphone.

The Crown had urged the judge to consider Abdirahman’s “suspicious” calls and detour through Mexico indicate that his level of “involvement, planning and execution” goes beyond that of a courier.

However, Thomas said he found no evidence to support that conclusion.

“The assumption is that truckers are used by drug traffickers to bring drugs into the country, so he was convicted as a courier, as other truckers have been convicted in the past,” Pollock told the journalists after the conviction.

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