A truck driver from Surrey who smuggled cocaine across the Canada-US border has fled to India.
60-year-old Raj Kumar Mehmi was sentenced to serve a total of 15 years in prison for smuggling 80 kilograms of cocaine into BC, through the Canada-U.S. Pacific Highway border crossing.
According to a release, police say he was initially arrested by the BC RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) – Waterfront Joint Force Operation unit (WJFO) on November 6, 2017, after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) discovered “80 sealed bricks of cocaine hidden inside a semi-trailer truck being driven, and owned by Mehmi”.
“At the time of this seizure, the bulk street value of the cocaine was estimated at $3.2 million.”
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The 60-year-old was charged with Importation of a Controlled Substance and Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking.
In September of 2022, a Supreme Court Judge found Mehmi guilty on both charges. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for January 9, 2023, but he fled to India after boarding a flight from Vancouver on October 11, 2022.
“Since Mehmi failed to appear for his sentencing hearing, an application to sentence him in absentia was filed, and subsequently granted on September 15, 2023.”
A Canada-wide warrant for his arrest has been issued by police. The RCMP is also seeking an INTERPOL Red Notice.
Anyone with information on whereabouts is asked to not approach him. Contact your local police agency, or anonymously report it through the BC Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-222-8477.