The Canadian government is asking Interpol to issue a “red notice” for the arrest of a Surrey, B. C. , man convicted of smuggling cocaine into Canada but believed to have fled to India to avoid jail.
If granted, the “red notice” would ask foreign police agencies to arrest Raj Kumar Mehmi, a 60-year-old truck driver who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for possessing and importing 80 kilograms of cocaine through the Pacific Highway border crossing near Vancouver.
A Canada-wide warrant has also been issued for Mehmi’s arrest.
The Surrey man was first arrested at the border in November 2017 while driving a truck he owned with sealed bricks of cocaine hidden inside.
“The truck randomly opted for secondary examination” when cocaine was discovered inside the truck’s sleeper cab, Holly Stoner, director of the Pacific region at the Canada Border Services Agency, told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
The RCMP’s Federal Unit Against Organized Crime and Organized Crime estimated drug trafficking at $3. 2 million.
Mehmi pleaded guilty to one count of charging a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking in September 2022.
Raj Kumar Mehmi sentenced in absentia to 15 years criminal sentence for possessing and carrying 80 kilograms of cocaine through the Peace Arch Border Crossing (RCMP).
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for last January, but the government says Mehmi boarded a flight from Vancouver to New Delhi on Oct. 11, 2022, and did not return to Canada.
Despite his absence, he was sentenced in Surrey Provincial Court last month to nine years’ criminal sentence for importation and six years’ criminal sentence.
An RCMP spokesperson said Mehmi’s Canadian passport was seized through the RCMP and handed over to Passport Canada at the time of her arrest. However, due to the time that elapsed between his arrest and his sentencing, Mehmi was able to legally download some other passport through Passport Canada, which he eventually used to flee.
“The RCMP and CBSA have taken all necessary measures within the legal framework,” the captain said. Arash Seyed, Federal Unit Against Organized and Serious Crime of the RCMP. “If he had been flagged and deemed a flight risk, we would have enforced it. “
The most recent data from Statistics Canada indicates that cocaine use has increased since 2020 and contributed “significantly” to accidental drug poisoning deaths in British Columbia and Canada as a whole.
“Given that approximately a portion of poisonous drug deaths in B. C. involve stimulants like cocaine, this is a significant drug seizure,” RCMP Superintendent Bert Ferreira told reporters. The resulting criminal conviction of the guilty user demonstrates our commitment to keeping Canadians safe. “
The Surrey man was first arrested at the border in November 2017 while driving a truck he owned with sealed bricks of cocaine hidden inside. (RCMP)
Seyed said the amount of cocaine seized suggests the involvement of organized crime.
“In this case we are ahead, but it is clear that the convicted user has escaped,” he added. “If he is discovered and arrested, a procedure will be followed with our foreign partners, India is also a member of Interpol – and we would initiate an extradition procedure. “
Researchers describe Mehmi as being about 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. His sentence includes a lifetime ban on firearm ownership and limited weapons.
Anyone who sees Mehmi, or has information on his whereabouts, is urged not to approach him. Instead, witnesses and tipsters can contact local police or report what they know anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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