ICE sends convicted drug trafficker back to Canada

Christopher Anthony Frater is seen in this image provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the “removal” of a convicted Canadian drug trafficker, who was caught transporting more than 125 lbs of cocaine across the country in 2022.

The government agency said Tuesday that Christopher Anthony Frater, 32, was returned to Canadian authorities last week after he was convicted of a drug-related charge in 2023.

In a news release, ICE officials said Frater entered the U.S. on or about July 11, 2022.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Nebraska, Frater was driving a rented vehicle, one way, from Los Angeles to New York two days later when he was stopped by police near Omaha for making “several traffic violations.”

“Frater made inconsistent statements about the purpose and timing of his travel which raised the officer’s suspicions,” U.S. authorities said at the time.

Police said at the time that a K-9 unit positively alerted to the scent of narcotics in the vehicle, which prompted a search. Police then found three Home Depot boxes containing more than 125 lbs of cocaine.

Frater was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a substance or mixture containing a detectable amount of cocaine in a Nebraska court and was sentenced to 10 years in a U.S. prison.

Border officials said they “located” Frater in a prison in Ray Brook, N.Y., and “based on his alien status” and federal conviction, he was returned to Canada.

Frater reentered Canada on March 7 by way of the Ogdensburg, N.Y., south of Ottawa. It’s unclear where exactly he will serve the rest of his sentence in Canada.

Since he retook the White House in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a hard line on deporting so-called “criminal aliens” who pose a risk to national security.