Couple co-accused in Coutts cocaine case cross-examined in court

Officers with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) found 84 bricks of cocaine inside. Depending on how the drugs are packaged and sold, it could have had a street value between $6.7 million and $8.4 million.

At the time of the alleged offence, it was the largest-ever seizure of cocaine at Coutts.

Kirandeep says she was living in her home country of India when she met Gurminder. They had an arranged marriage in February 2015 and moved to Fresno, California in May 2016. Gurminder had already been residing in America since 2008.

Gurminder is a commercial truck driver running his own business, although the company’s name and the insurance and registration for the vehicle are under his wife’s name.

Court heard that Kirandeep “never interferes” with her husband’s business and is not intimately aware of many of the details for how the company operates.

Gurminder told the jury that he received a call from his dispatcher on Wednesday, November 30, 2017, for a delivery. He was set to pick up four loads of produce from different suppliers in southern California and would arrive at the Costco in Airdrie on Monday, December 6.

He picked up his truck from a mechanic who had been installing part of a new wood floor in the vehicle and putting in a new inverter that would ensure the microwave would work.

After picking up the produce, the couple travelled together and started to make their way to Canada.

They first stopped in Fernley and Wells, Nevada then took further breaks in Twin Falls and Idaho Falls, Idaho. The last stop they made before hitting the border was in Great Falls, Montana.

While at a gas station in Great Falls, the Toors fueled up, got some food and coffee, and took a shower. Gurminder estimates they were inside for about 1.5 to two hours.

Due to the cold weather at the time, he left the keys in the vehicle running. From where they were in the store, they could not see the 18-wheeler.

The couple then arrived at the Coutts border shortly after midnight on December 2.

They were asked to go inside the waiting room while CBSA officers conducted a search of the vehicle.

The members claim to have found eight bricks of cocaine in the microwave that was inside the truck. Another eight bricks were located behind the microwave, six bricks in a drawer between the end of the cabin’s bed and the wall of the truck, and 44 bricks underneath the top bunk mattress.

Both of the accused denied having any knowledge of the drugs nor packs of rubber gloves found in the near vicinity.

Given the amount of time truck drivers spend inside their vehicle, the crown found it odd that neither of them would notice anything out of the ordinary.

They were placed under arrest and put into cells.

Gurminder said he was surprised when the CBSA informed him of this.

Kirandeep, despite being informed that she had the right to phone an attorney, elected not to do so as she believed she did not do anything wrong and that everything would be fine.

The crown was concerned to learn that Gurminder had admittedly “cheated the logs” while making the trip. Since commercial truck drivers are only allowed to drive for a certain amount of time before taking a 10-hour break, he explained that drivers would sometimes write down a smaller amount of time spent on the road or a longer amount of break time to remain in compliance with regulations.

There were discrepancies in what the logs show as far as the Toors’ time in Nevada. Although Gurminder stated in court that they were at the gas station in Great Falls for up to two hours, the logs only reflect them spending 15 minutes there.

With the cross-examinations for both of the accused now complete, the jury has heard all of the evidence.

Closing arguments are expected to begin Monday morning.

by David Opinko

Couple co-accused in Coutts cocaine case cross-examined in court

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