Bail revoked for alleged meth smuggler

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2024 (567 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A judge has overruled the decision to release a man accused of transporting 406 kilograms of methamphetamine across the Canada-U.S. border at the Boissevain crossing this year.

“It would be a blow to the administration of justice if the order of (bail) is maintained,” Judge John Menzies ruled in a Brandon courtroom Wednesday as he ordered Komalpreet Singh Sidhu of Winnipeg back to jail.

The Crown initiated what it described as a “relatively rare” bail review application against Sidhu, who was granted bail in provincial court on Feb. 1. He was required to wear an ankle bracelet, pay $20,000 in bail, abide by a curfew and meet other conditions.

The 29-year-old is charged with importing, exporting and trafficking methamphetamine after Canada Border Services Agency officers seized 406 kilograms of the drug while inspecting the semi-truck he had driven to the border on Jan. 14.

The Crown said the estimated street value of the drugs was $50 million.

The Crown argued that provincial court Judge Patrick Sullivan made an error in law considering the strength of the Crown’s case and that the decision to grant Sidhu bail shook the public’s confidence in the justice system.

“At the end of the day, the question is this,” Crown attorney Janna Hyman told the court. “Would public confidence in the administration of justice be shaken by an accused, who knowingly brings a staggering amount of this serious drug into our community for profit, causing mass misery, (when he) is granted (bail)? And in the Crown’s submission, the answer to that question is yes.”

Hyman called Sullivan’s description of the drug seizure as one of the largest in Manitoba history an understatement. She called the 400 kilograms “unheard of” in Manitoba, as amounts that would be considered large are 40 to 50 kilograms.

Sidhu was taken out of the courtroom by court sheriffs. His matter will next appear in Court of King’s Bench in Brandon on April 15. — Brandon Sun