TRUCKERS CALLED DRUG MOB DUPES

Prosecution Concealing Evidence Of Cartel, Defence Lawyer Tells
Judge

Two men accused of smuggling 50 kilograms of cocaine into Canada in a
load of California produce were dupes for an Indo-Canadian cartel
involved in drug trafficking and kidnapping, their lawyer told a judge
Thursday

Patrick Ducharme said the prosecution's failure to disclose evidence
about the cartel is reason to have proceedings against truck drivers
Parminder Singh Chouhan, 30, and Gurjeet Singh Padda, 27, stayed.

He argued the Crown had not disclosed information about the men's
bosses, including their criminal records and police interviews from
elsewhere in the country, linking these "cartel members" to drug
trafficking activities.

But federal prosecutor Richard Pollock argued the information Ducharme
recited and expected the Crown to seek out was not relevant to the
case. "The important point is the accuseds had knowledge and control
of what was in this truck when it crossed the border."

Chouhan and Padda entered Canada over the Ambassador Bridge Oct. 3,
2005, court heard. Chouhan dropped Padda off at a brokerage firm and
proceeded to the Canada Border Services Agency inspection yard on
Huron Church Road.

Customs officer Catherine Morgan testified she selected Chouhan's
truck at random for inspection, but upon noticing the name on the cab,
recalled the company being the subject of an alert. She directed
Chouhan to the warehouse area where the truck's contents were X-rayed.

Morgan testified the X-ray showed an "anomaly" in the load. Five
pallets from the back of the trailer was cargo that appeared "denser"
than the freight around it.

Officers unloaded the trailer by hand, uncovering cocaine hidden in
boxes of lettuce.

Chouhan and Padda have been in jail since their arrest that
day.

Ducharme told Ontario court Justice Roderick Flaherty he does not want
their challenge of the Crown's case to postpone the trial.

"It's just not fair for these men to stay in custody."