Source: Office of United States Attorneys
TOLEDO, Ohio – Gurpinder Singh, 30, and Gursharn Singh, 25, both citizens of India, have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Knepp. Both defendants pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to court documents, on Oct. 3, 2023, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers observed a semi-tractor trailer truck parked for an unusually extended amount of time at a travel plaza in Wood County off Interstate 280. Upon the verification of the truck’s displayed U.S. Department of Transportation numbers, they learned that one of the numbers had a previous association with drug trafficking and was therefore not authorized to haul interstate commerce. Officers then began to conduct surveillance on the truck. The following day, the truck was observed being relocated to a second travel plaza also located along Interstate 280, where it again remained parked for an extended period of time. Because authorities observed the truck being stationary for a total of over 24 hours at two different travel plazas, they proceeded to contact the DEA Toledo Field Office for assistance. Agents then had a consensual encounter with the two defendants associated with the truck. During the encounter, Gurpinder Singh denied being parked at the previous location where the truck was observed the day before.
A border patrol agent then deployed a K-9 partner near the defendants’ truck. The K-9 conducted an exterior sniff of the vehicle and alerted to the presence of narcotics on the passenger side of the truck. Officers then conducted a probable cause search of the truck and found several duffel bags with kilogram-sized packages of suspected cocaine. Two of the packages yielded a positive field test result for cocaine. The remaining substances were submitted to the DEA crime laboratory for analysis. Lab tests conducted on the substances yielded a net result of 49.9 kilograms of powder cocaine.
Upon further investigation, federal agents discovered that the defendants lacked legal status in the United States. They will be subject to removal from the United States upon the completion of their sentences.
This case was investigated by the DEA Task Force of Toledo Field Office in partnership with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Border Patrol Sandusky Bay Station.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.