A Canadian citizen was caught trying to smuggle a large bag of methamphetamine pills over the northern border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, the agency announced this week.
CBP says that on Friday, Feb. 28, officers at the U.S.-Canada port of entry in Ogdensburg, N.Y., encountered 32-year-old Canadian citizen Raphael Leblond-Lacroix attempting to cross the border into the U.S. in a commercial vehicle.
CBP officers referred the commercial vehicle for additional inspection, during which a large bag of approximately 130 pills were found in the truck cab.
Further inspection resulted in the discovery of multiple containers and bags of marijuana, weighing a total of approximately one pound, CBP said.
The suspected narcotics were seized by CBP and tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana.
Leblond-Lacroix was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and is now facing the federal felony charge of importation of controlled substances.
“I am proud of the commitment and dedication of our officers as they continue to keep our country and communities safe from these dangerous drugs,” said CBP’s Ogdensburg Port Director Tom Trimboli on Wednesday.
The foiled smuggling attempt comes amid ongoing tensions between President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the president’s allegations that Canada has failed to adequately address the flow of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, and illegal aliens over the northern border.
President Trump earlier this week imposed 25 percent tariffs on imports from both Mexico and Canada, to which Trudeau responded with a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on certain U.S. imports.
In a Wednesday post to his Truth Social platform, Trump said that he told the Canadian prime minister during a call that “he largely caused the problems we have with them because of his Weak Border Policies, which allowed tremendous amounts of Fentanyl, and Illegal Aliens, to pour into the United States.”
