RCMP SEIZE RECORD AMOUNT OF MARIJUANA

292 Kilos Found In Eastbound Semi-Trailer

Truck inspectors and RCMP seized 292 kilograms of high-grade marijuana
Sunday afternoon from an eastbound semi-trailer at the West Hawk Lake
weigh scales -- the largest seizure of its kind in Manitoba.

RCMP Const. Ryan Cadotte said the discovery was made by a provincial
transportation official after he compared the truck's paperwork to
what was being carried in its trailer.

"He noticed something wasn't right,'' Cadotte said. "There were boxes
in there that weren't jiving to the load."

Cadotte said the inspector opened one of the cardboard boxes and saw
the marijuana, which was packaged in plastic bags and then called
Mounties at Falcon Lake, the nearest detachment.

Police got a search warrant and soon after seized 28 boxes full of
hydroponic pot from the semi, which had driven from British Columbia.

It was the largest seizure ever at the scales. Police believe the
marijuana had a street value of more than $5 million, once broken down
by dealers and sold on the street. The truck's driver, Harvinder
Singh, of Mississauga, Ont., has been charged with possession for the
purpose of trafficking.

RCMP say in the past 12 months, Department of Transportation
inspectors and RCMP have seized more than 862 kilos of marijuana at
the West Hawk weigh scale at the Manitoba-Ontario border.

The previous record haul at the scales was made March 15 when
authorities seized 272 kilos of marijuana. Most of the marijuana
seized had been packaged in vacuum-sealed bags in pound and half-pound
weights.

At the time, police said they are seeing increasing use of the
Trans-Canada Highway to smuggle high-grade marijuana -- so-called B.C.
Bud -- into the lucrative eastern markets.

Police and inspectors compare the truck's paperwork, listing what
cargo it is carrying, to what is inside the trailer.

Police have also said they have no idea how much marijuana is moving
from B.C. to other parts of Canada, as most often it's transported by
unwitting truckers who are hired only to drive the semi. Sunday's
seizure came four days after Prime Minister Paul Martin said he'd
press ahead with legislation to eliminate criminal penalties for
possession of small amounts of marijuana, perhaps with a 15-gram maximum.

Martin said young people caught with small amounts of the drug should
not be burdened with criminal records.

Police have said the ongoing debate in Ottawa over marijuana
decriminalization only encourages more of the drug's use and
cultivation.