Guilty verdict. $7.8M of ‘party drugs’ smuggled into Eastern WA from Canada
KENNEWICK – A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict after $7.8 million worth of illegal drugs was smuggled in backpacks and a suitcase across the Canadian border into a remote wildland area of Eastern Washington.
Jaskaran Singh, 31, a native of Gujarat, India, was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute a drug commonly known as the party drug “ecstasy” or “molly.”
The drug seizure was one of the largest in Eastern Washington, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker of the Eastern Washington District U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In September 2022, U.S. Border Patrol was told by the owner of property just south of the Canadian border that they had found vehicle tracks on their land.
The only vehicle access to the area where the tire tracks were spotted was on Fourth of July Creek Road, a dirt road that dead ends in the mountains before reaching the Canadian border.
Agents set up motion sensor cameras on undeveloped land about one-half mile west of the Danville, Washington, port of entry, which activated the night of April 29.
Three people carrying backpacks and a suitcase could be seen walking south from the border by officials at the Curlew Border Patrol Station, according to a court document.
About 15 minutes later agents stopped a rented Honda Odyssey on Fourth of July Creek Road heading away from the border. The driver was Singh, who had a U.S. Employment Authorization Card and a California commercial driver’s license.
Singh’s phone had messages with information on where he should go, when he should arrive and to “make sure there is no car behind you” and “leave the back hood open.”
Inside the car were backpacks and suitcases holding baggies of methamphetamine and molly weighing 174 pounds.
At trial the jury heard that the three people seen on the motion sensor camera had carried the drugs in backpacks and the suitcase about 300 yards from the Canadian border to where Singh had parked the van.
Agents were not able to apprehend the three people who had been carrying the backpacks and suitcases before the three headed back over the Canadian border, according to court documents.
Ecstasy, formally known as 3-4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, acts as a stimulant and hallucinogen, producing an energizing effect, distortions in time and perception, and enhanced enjoyment of tactile experiences.
Adolescents and young adults use it to reduce inhibitions and to promote euphoria, feelings of closeness and sexuality, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Singh is scheduled to be sentenced June 25 in Spokane by U.S. Judge Thomas Rice. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and also could be removed from the United States.
The case was investigated by the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations in addition to the Border Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alison Gregoire and Dan Fruchter.