Ontario man charged after suspected $6.5M cocaine bust at border

Federal authorities released this image of suspected cocaine seized at the Queenston Bridge port of entry in Ontario on September 26, 2023. (Photo provided by the CBSA)

Federal authorities say they’ve brought charges against a Brampton, Ont., man accused of trafficking cocaine across an Ontario border.

The RCMP said it intercepted a truckload of narcotics headed through a Niagara-on-the-Lake border crossing on Sept. 26.

In a news release Wednesday, police said they estimated the cargo was worth around $6.5 million after a sample tested positive for cocaine.

On Dec. 19, authorities charged 35-year-old Sukhwinder Dhanju with offences related to drug importation and trafficking.

Dhanju was released from custody with "strict conditions," according to the RCMP. He's due to appear in a St. Catharines, Ont., courthouse in February.

Canadian federal police collaborated with border services to make the arrest and "significant seizure of narcotics," wrote border services district director Jeff Walters in the release.