A 61-year-old Colborne, Ont., man is facing charges after a officials say a significant seizure of cocaine and methamphetamine was made at the Ambassador Bridge.
Canada Border Services Agency officials say the bust took place on Aug. 4, when Wayne Douglas Rutherford was returning to Canada with a commercial shipment of produce from California.
The shipment was referred for secondary examination. CBSA officers noticed inconsistencies in the front wall of the cargo trailer during an examination by the Mobile Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System.
After removing a number of interior panels, officers say they discovered multiple packages of cocaine and methamphetamine. A total of 53 kilograms of cocaine and 22 kilograms of meth were seized.
“The smuggling of drugs into our country poses a grave threat to the safety of our communities,” says Tony Geoghegan, acting regional director general of Southern Ontario Region. “CBSA officers work tirelessly to keep illegal drugs and other contraband from entering Canada.”
Rutherford has been charged by the RCMP with two counts of unlawfully importing a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a substance for the purpose of trafficking.
He has been released from custody and his next court appearance has been scheduled for Sept. 9 in Windsor.
This is the second significant drug seizure for the CBSA at the Ambassador Bridge in the past four months. Officers seized 22 kilograms of cocaine on May 28.
