Canadian airport security screeners charged with drug trafficiking www.privateofficer.com
VANCOUVER Canada May 30 2011– Two Indo-Canadian security screeners at Vancouver airport have been arrested.
Gurvinder Singh Pahl, 24, of Richmond and Ajitpal Singh Judge, 31, of Surrey are accused of trafficking, possession, conspiracy and breach of trust after police arrested a drug trafficker and uncovered a plot smuggle 15 kilos of ecstasy to the US.
been charged after a drug bust that netted 15 kilos of ecstasy pills known as MDMA.
Pahl and Judge, who were uniformed pre-board screening officers, were arrested on May 20 following an investigation.
They have been released on bail and will make their next court appearance on June 15.
The investigation began after a third man was caught with drugs at the airport May 9th. Dylan Scott Green, 20, of Vancouver has arrested on the same charges as Pahl and Judge.
Police say the plan was discovered after officers of the Canada Border Services Agency questioned Green in the post security screening section of the U.S. departures area of the airport on May 9.
Green admitted to carrying 14.7 kilos of the drug in his backpack and was immediately arrested. The RCMP’s Border Integrity Program (BIP) and Drug Enforcement Branch (DEB) were immediately alerted and an investigation was initiated.
The investigation that followed the seizure of drugs uncovered a drug export conspiracy allegedly involving Pahl and Judge working for a company under contract from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.
Green, who was released at the time of his arrest, has now been arrested on upgraded charges of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking and Conspiracy to Traffic in a Controlled Substance.
Both Pahl and Judge were remanded in custody until May 24 at which time they appeared in Richmond Provincial Court. They have since been released on bail and will make their next court appearance on June 15, 2011.
Both Pahl and Judge are each facing charges of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking, Conspiracy to Traffic in a Controlled Substance, and Breach of Trust.
Pahl, who had a previous criminal record stemming from credit card fraud, is facing an additional charge of Failure to Comply with a Probation Order.
Police is shocked that no security checks were done on Pahl’s record and he was allowed to work at such a sensitive security post even after committing credit card fraud.
The RCMP said the charges are a direct result of intelligence-gathering and cooperation between the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Vancouver International Airport Authority and Transport Canada.
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