Canadian Trucker Suspected of Smuggling Nearly $5.4 Million Worth of Meth Over Border

Posted

A Canadian trucker was arrested last weekend after he allegedly attempted to smuggle nearly 200 pounds of methamphetamine across the border from the United States through the Blaine crossing in Whatcom County in late 2018.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada approved charges Aug. 10 against Surrey resident Steven Andrew Golding, 64, for the importation and possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced in a news release Wednesday, Aug. 19. If convicted, each charge could bring a lifetime sentence in prison.

Golding was arrested on those charges Saturday, Aug. 17, and issued a release on condition he make a first appearance Sept. 14 in Surrey, B.C., Provincial Court, according to the release.

On Dec. 1, 2018, Golding and a passenger attempted to cross from the U.S. into Canada at the Pacific Highway Border crossing in a semi truck with legitimate goods in the trailer, the release stated. During a secondary inspection of the vehicle, Canada Border Services Agency officers reportedly found various bags of what was later confirmed to be methamphetamine.

In all, Federal Serious and Organized Crime investigators seized a total of 89.805 kilograms (nearly 198 pounds) of methamphetamine from the Volvo truck, the release stated. An ounce of methamphetamine is worth between $1,200 and $1,700 in the United States, according to drugtimes.org, meaning the seized drugs could be worth as much as $5.4 million.

"At our borders, the Canada Border Services Agency is Canada's first line of defense," Director of the Canada Border Services Agency's Pacific Highway District Daniela Evans said in the release. "Our border services officers are highly trained in examination and investigative techniques to keep prohibited goods, such as narcotics, from entering Canada."



The passenger in Golding's truck was not charged, according to the release.

___

(c)2020 The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)

Visit The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.) at www.bellinghamherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.