An Ontario court has convicted a 33-year-old Indian-origin Sikh truck driver for importing approximately 40 kilograms of cocaine, worth an estimated $4.8 million, into Canada through the Blue Water Bridge in April 2024.
 

Ranjit Singh was found guilty of importing a controlled substance and possessing it for the purpose of trafficking by Ontario Superior Court Justice Scott Pratt on Monday. The verdict followed a three-week trial held in Sarnia in June.
 

Singh had pleaded not guilty to both charges. The case relates to the recovery of approximately 40 kilograms of cocaine, valued between $3.6 million and $4.8 million, from two boxes inside his truck on the Canadian side of the Blue Water Bridge on April 26, 2024.
 

In his ruling, Justice Pratt said he did not find Singh's explanation credible and pointed to several inconsistencies in his testimony.
 

During the trial, the Crown prosecutor alleged that Singh had collected bricks of cocaine from another truck at a Pilot Travel Center in Channahon, Illinois. He then allegedly purchased cardboard boxes from a Home Depot store in Shorewood, Illinois, packed the drugs and loaded them onto his trailer at a yard on Sanders Road in Lansing, Michigan.
 

The boxes containing the cocaine were subsequently concealed within a pallet of other goods, according to the prosecution's case.
 

Singh denied the allegations, maintaining that although cocaine was recovered from his trailer, he had neither been given the drugs nor knew how they had ended up there.
 

He told the court that the owner of his trucking company had instructed him to purchase the Home Depot boxes and leave them near another truck at the Michigan yard. Singh also testified that he noticed an unidentified person at the location and had left his truck unattended for 10 to 15 minutes while using the washroom.
 

However, the judge accepted the central argument presented by the Crown, stating that he was satisfied that Singh had most likely received the cocaine from another driver at the travel centre.
 

Justice Pratt further observed that the precise time when Singh obtained the drugs was not significant. The important consideration was that the cocaine was in his possession when he entered Canada and that he knew it was inside his trailer.
 

Singh, who was released on bail of $200,000 in early May 2024, will remain out on bail until sentencing. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February.