B.C. woman sentenced to 5 1/2 years for smuggling 108 kilograms of meth from U.S. - BERITAJA

A British Columbia female who worked successful Punjabi-language broadcasting has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years successful situation aft attempting to smuggle much than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine into Canada from the United States.

Sukhvinder Kaur Sangha pleaded blameworthy to unlawful importation successful 2024 aft she was arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency having fled a separator crossing successful Surrey, B.C., astatine “high speed” successful a rental conveyance successful October 2021.

Sangha’s condemnation was handed down by the B.C. Supreme Court successful New Westminster connected April 10, and the ruling says she gave “untruthful testimony” by claiming she was being threatened and coerced into smuggling the drugs.

Justice John Gibb-Carsley says successful his reasons for condemnation that Sangha showed up astatine the Pacific Border crossing connected Oct. 21, 2021, successful a rental car pinch Florida plates, telling guards she had been successful Washington State for her aunt’s funeral.

The reasons opportunity Sangha fled the separator crossing aft being flagged for a secondary hunt of the vehicle, starring to a pursuit earlier she was pulled complete connected 16th Avenue successful Surrey.

The ruling says a hunt of the conveyance turned up 4 duffel bags containing 108 kilograms of methamphetamine, pinch an estimated worth of betwixt $1 cardinal and $10 million.

It says Sangha, now 47, was calved successful Prince George and worked for a decade arsenic a Punjabi connection power and tv shaper who produced news stories about crime and interviewed “ministers, celebrities, members of provincial Parliament, and constabulary officers.”

The judge recovered Sangha’s grounds to beryllium untruthful, which “negates the remorse that would different beryllium evinced done her blameworthy plea.”

“I expect that Ms. Sangha is remorseful because she was caught and now must look the consequences of her actions, but that is different than being remorseful for her offending behaviour,” the judge wrote.

Text connection grounds led the judge to judge that Sangha was apt a “trusted and consenting participant” successful the supplier smuggling cognition alternatively than a unfortunate of coercion, having claimed she’d received threats against her son.

The texts, the judge found, besides showed that she’d imported narcotics astatine different times earlier her arrest, and the connection and reside she utilized erstwhile arranging cross-border trips did “not accord pinch her communicative that she was fearful.”

Sangha, the ruling says, “has immoderate personage floor plan successful her organization arsenic a Punjabi connection power and tv big and media presence.”

“I deduce nary pleasance successful sentencing you,” the judge told Sangha. “What I dream you heard and understand is that location are important risks, dangers and consequences associated pinch the forbidden supplier trade. It is not a victimless crime.”

“My dream is that you could usage your clip of incarceration productively and positively specified that this is your past relationship pinch the criminal justness system,” the judge said.