B.C. BORDER GUARD PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY'

Accused Drug Smuggler's Trial Moved to U.S. Court

A former B.C. border guard accused in 2009 of aiding a drug smuggling
ring by allowing them to cross through his lane with illicit cargo
undetected has been extradited to the United States.

And Jasbir Singh Grewal made his first appearance Monday in a Seattle
courtroom, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to
newly filed U.S. court documents.

Grewal was ordered detained until his jury trial begins August 15
before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik.

The case was reassigned to Lasnik earlier this month because he has
presided over the court proceedings of several other B.C. men who
pleaded guilty in the same smuggling conspiracy, headed by former
Abbotsford resident Rob Shannon and linked to the Hells Angels.

Shannon is serving a 20-year-sentence handed to him in March 2009.

Grewal is accused of allowing up to 3,000 kilos of cocaine to be
smuggled into B.C. worth as much as $75-million.

The U.S. alleges he misused his position to allow vehicles packed
with cocaine to cross at his Aldergrove post.

The original indictment alleges Grewal was paid tens of thousands
each for 12 shipments he allowed across the border.

"Jasbir Singh Grewal, an employee of the Canada Border Services
Agency, abused his position of trust and influence with the
government of Canada by allowing the co-conspirators travelling by
recreational vehicles to exit the United States through the
Lynden/Aldergrove Port of Entry," the indictment said.

The U.S. court documents said Grewal and other conspirators,
"coordinated the timing of the entry of illegal shipments of cocaine
to Canada with the co-conspirators driving the recreational vehicles
to coincide with his employment schedule."

The court documents lay out in detail one of the shipments linked to Grewal.

"In July 2007, Jasbir Singh Grewal was on duty at the Aldergrove
point of entry. He was wearing his department-issued uniform in
service of the Canada Border Services Agency. Jasbir Singh Grewal was
told by telephone that a recreational vehicle containing cocaine was
soon to approach the international border crossing. ..."The driver of
the recreational vehicle was told to approach the crossing at a
specific booth that was staffed by Jasbir Singh Grewal. The driver
complied with his instruction and Jasbir Singh Grewal knowingly
passed the vehicle containing the cocaine. ... In exchange for the
vehicle to pass, Jasbir Singh Grewal was paid $50,000."

The alleged smuggling scheme is almost identical to a criminal case
currently before New Westminster Supreme Court where another former
border guard, Baljinder Kandola, and an alleged accomplice named
Shminder Johal, are accused of smuggling cocaine and guns into Canada.

The Crown in that case alleged in opening submissions last week that
Kandola was paid to allow the drug gang headed by Johal to smuggle at
least three large shipments of cocaine and some firearms through his
Pacific Border Crossing post.

Grewal was under investigation throughout 2007 until November 2008,
court documents state. And Kandola was arrested in October 2007 after
allegedly allowing more than 200 kilos of cocaine into Canada.

Grewal has not faced any charges in Canada. Nor has Kandola been
indicted in the U.S.

But Johal, the Kandola co-accused, has also been charged in
Washington state, according to court documents obtained by The
Vancouver Sun. He faces counts of conspiracy to export cocaine, as
well as possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, in
connection with the same intercepted cocaine shipment.

Johal, who has an active facebook account, lists as one of his online
friends, Skeeter Russell, who is now serving a U.S. prison term for
his role in the Shannon drug ring in which Grewal is now charged.

In the Shannon-Grewal conspiracy, the U.S. government says more than
$19 million worth of marijuana and cocaine was transported back and
forth across the border over five years. The Canadians headed the
drug gang and worked on behalf of the Hells Angels in B.C., the U.S.
Attorney has said. And the Canadian entrepreneurs enlisted the aid of
an army of U.S. associates to store their drugs, transport them and
distribute them.

Fifty-four suspects have been indicted over the last three years,
including 29 Canadians. Of the British Columbians, 23 have so far
pleaded guilty.