A former B.C. border guard accused in 2009 of aiding a drug smuggling ring by allowing them to cross through his lane with illicit cargo undetected has been extradited to the United States.
Jasbir Singh Grewal made his first appearance Monday in a Seattle courtroom, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to newly filed U.S. court documents.
Grewal was ordered detained until his jury trial begins Aug. 15 before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik.
The case was reassigned to Lasnik earlier this month because he has presided over the court proceedings of several other B.C. men who pleaded guilty in the same smuggling conspiracy, headed by former Abbotsford resident Rob Shannon and linked to the Hells Angels.
Shannon is serving a 20-year-sentence handed to him in March 2009.
Grewal is accused of allowing up to 3,000 kilograms of cocaine to be smuggled into B.C., worth as much as $75 million.
The U.S. alleges he misused his position to allow vehicles packed with cocaine to cross at his Aldergrove post.
The original indictment alleges Grewal was paid tens of thousands of dollars each for 12 shipments he allowed across the border.
“Jasbir Singh Grewal, an employee of the Canada Border Services Agency, abused his position of trust and influence with the Government of Canada by allowing the co-conspirators travelling by recreational vehicles to exit the United States through the Lynden/Aldergrove port of entry.”
The U.S. court documents said Grewal and other conspirators “coordinated the timing of the entry of illegal shipments of cocaine to Canada with the co-conspirators driving the recreational vehicles to coincide with his employment schedule.”
The court documents detail one of the shipments linked to Grewal.
“In July 2007, Jasbir Singh Grewal was on duty at the Aldergrove point of entry. He was wearing his department-issued uniform in service of the Canada Border Services Agency. Jasbir Singh Grewal was told by telephone that a recreational vehicle containing cocaine was soon to approach the international border crossing. …
“The driver of the recreational vehicle was told to approach the crossing at a specific booth that was staffed by Jasbir Singh Grewal. The driver complied with his instruction and Jasbir Singh Grewal knowingly passed the vehicle containing the cocaine. . . .In exchange for the vehicle to pass, Jasbir Singh Grewal was paid $50,000.”
In the Shannon-Grewal conspiracy, the U.S. government says more than $19 million worth of marijuana and cocaine was transported back and forth across the border over five years.
Grewal has not faced any charges in Canada.
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