Intercontinental couple speaks out after wrongfully accused of exporting cannabis

A Winnipeg couple is speaking out after border officials accused one of them of exporting cannabis. CTV’s Harrison Shin reports.

A Winnipeg couple is speaking out after their trip to Frankfurt, Germany, was derailed when they were allegedly handcuffed and detained for 12 hours at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Jan Baumann was visiting his partner, Charlene Ranadheera, in Winnipeg before the duo embarked on a trip to Frankfurt to meet Baumann’s family.

Baumann said the Feb. 19 travel was “completely normal” until they got to the gate at the Toronto airport—a scheduled layover.

“There were a few border control agents directly at the entrance, and I’ve seen this several times, so it was no problem,” Baumann said.

He said officers from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) checked their passports and Ranadheera was sent through onto the connecting flight to Frankfurt—but not him.

“The border control people—they looked at each other, nodded, and… they just immediately handcuffed me and pushed me against the wall.”

After learning of the incident through a flight attendant, Ranadheera deboarded the plane.

Officers allegedly told the couple that Baumann was detained for cannabis trafficking and that Ranadheera was also being detained for being associated with him.

“I asked (the officer), ‘You found cannabis in Jan’s backpack?’ and at that point, (the officer) was like, ‘What kind of luggage did you have?’” Ranadheera said.

They said they were detained for six hours at the airport until RCMP officers arrived. Ranadheera said she was later provided doorbell camera footage showing which bags they had when they left Winnipeg and was released.

However, she said Baumann remained in custody for an additional six hours.

Baumann’s checked luggage consisted of a black hiking backpack, but according to the officers, he had an extra bag he didn’t know about.

“They explained to me during the discussions that somebody cut my bag tag and put it to another luggage piece like a big suitcase … they had two pieces of luggage—at this point—from me. One (the authorities) found, the other one that went on to Frankfurt.”

Air Canada employee arrested by RCMP

The following month, an Air Canada employee was arrested and charged for attempting to export approximately 66 kilograms of cannabis.

In a media release, Mounties said CBSA officers found around 33 kilograms of cannabis in each of two checked bags on Feb. 19 from two different people at the airport. Both people claimed the bag was not theirs, the release said.

• Passengers’ luggage tags were used to traffic kilos of cannabis. An Air Canada employee has been charged

Officers said an Air Canada employee working in the baggage room put passengers’ bag tags onto the suitcases filled with cannabis.

The passengers were released without charges.

On March 12, the 32-year-old employee, Atasha Weathley, was charged with cannabis possession for exporting and conspiracy to commit crime.

She was released with conditions, and none of the charges have been tested in court.

In an email, a spokesperson for Air Canada said the company is supporting the RCMP in their investigation.

Extra scrutiny at the port of entry

Baumann said the ordeal has caused him to lose trust in the airline.

“We packed how we should pack … we dropped the bag, and then we have to trust the company that they handle it properly without these things to happen,” he said.

“It’s a loss of trust there because beyond this point, we cannot do anything anymore.”

The incident has already affected their trip back to Winnipeg, Baumann said.

“When we flew back, we got in Toronto, we got immediately caught out (by border officers), and we were tested again with all our luggage.

“The border control also confirmed that we are now flagged for not doing anything, and for frequent travellers, this is not a good situation.”

CTV News reached out to CBSA for a comment and is awaiting for a response.

Air Canada said the matter is CBSA’s jurisdiction.

“That said, if we are able to assist with the situation, we would certainly do so,” the spokesperson said in part.

Baumann is now calling for additional screening measures of airline employees.

“The people working for the company, (they) should be security checked and do their job as they should, not smuggle drugs.”

With files from CTV News’ Jon Hendricks