Canadian trucker freed, says he’s victim of marijuana scam

Canadian trucker freed, says he’s victim of marijuana scam

DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors have dropped charges, at least for now, against a Canadian trucker who was arrested at the U.S. border early last month with more than a ton of marijuana in his rig, after his lawyer made the case that he was an unwitting victim of the drug smuggling scheme.

Tasbir Singh, 32, was detained on July 7 after border agents in Detroit found more than 2,200 pounds (998 kilograms) of marijuana worth an estimate $3.2 million in his truck.

Singh told authorities that he believed he had picked up compression springs in North York, Ontario. The delivery was supposed to go to Ohio. Because of COVID-19 rules, he never got out of his truck while it was being loaded, his attorney Ellen Michaels said.

“I had not done anything wrong,” Singh told the Detroit Free Press.

ADVERTISEMENT

Michaels said Singh was the victim of marijuana dealers who hacked into the trucking company’s computers, created a fake order for springs and packed the trailer with marijuana.

“He had no knowledge of what was in his truck,” Michaels said.

The U.S. attorney’s office filed a request with the court on July 22 to have the criminal complaint against Singh dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could refile the charges at a later date.

“The complaint was dismissed and the defendant released in order to allow the government to investigate further and decide whether criminal prosecution of Singh is appropriate,” Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in a statement.

Prosecutors also stated in court documents the “government needs additional time” to “identify all other individuals who should be held criminally responsible” for the pot smuggling, the Free Press reported.

Singh, a native of India, was released from custody on July 23. During his 16 days locked up, he missed his naturalization ceremony in Canada. He has since returned to his home in Windsor, Ontario.

“They gave me justice,” Singh said.

GOLDSTEIN: Why China makes Trudeau’s carbon tax irrelevant

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Share this Story: GOLDSTEIN: Why China makes Trudeau’s carbon tax irrelevant

GOLDSTEIN: Why China makes Trudeau’s carbon tax irrelevant In 2019, China for the first time generated more emissions than the entire developed world combined Photo by Jason Lee / Reuters

Article content Whenever human-induced climate change is discussed during Canada’s upcoming federal election, keep in mind the country that matters most on this issue is China and the fossil fuel that matters most in China is coal.

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content The reason is that whatever China does makes whatever Canada does irrelevant in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or GOLDSTEIN: Why China makes Trudeau’s carbon tax irrelevant Back to video That’s because coal — not oil — is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel and the main contributor to global emissions. In China, coal-fired electricity supplies 57% of its energy needs. In Canada it’s 7.4%. China consumes more coal than the rest of the world combined. In 2019, China was responsible for 27% of global emissions. The next largest emitter was the U.S. at 11%. Canada contributes 1.5%. We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or In 2019, China for the first time generated more emissions — 14.09 gigatonnes — than the entire developed world combined — 14.06 gigatonnes — including the 38 member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the 27 members of the European Union.

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content According to the international research company Rhodium Group, China’s emissions in 2019 more than tripled compared to 1990 levels, with a 25% increase over the past decade alone. China is also building coal-fired power plants at a faster pace than the rest of the world combined. In March, energy journalist Michael Standaert, writing in YaleEnvironment360, published by the Yale School of the Environment, reported that in 2020, China “brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation, more than three times what was brought online everywhere else. More On This Topic GOLDSTEIN: Better to do nothing than try to reach UN climate target, says report GOLDSTEIN: Trudeau’s prohibitively expensive climate plan comes with imaginary climate targets GOLDSTEIN: UN to hold annual ‘private jets for climate change’ gabfest

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content “A total of 247 gigawatts of coal power is now in planning or development (in China), nearly six times Germany’s entire coal-fired capacity. China has also proposed additional new coal plants that, if built, would generate 73.5 gigawatts of power, more than five times the 13.9 gigawatts proposed in the rest of the world combined.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed Canada to reducing our emissions up to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. (No federal government — Liberal or Conservative — has ever achieved a single target it has set in more than three decades.) China’s defenders argue that country’s reliance on coal has been decreasing over time (mainly because of public anger about air pollution), that China’s per capita emissions are much lower than Canada’s, that most emissions in today’s atmosphere were put there by developed countries and that China is a global leader in developing wind and solar power.

Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or That said, it’s also a major investor in coal plants around the world. A better argument, based on realpolitik, is that China’s focus is on having enough energy to feed its 1.4 billion people today, not global temperatures 80 years from now. Chinese President Xi Jinping says China’s emissions will peak before 2030 and achieve net zero by 2060. But given China’s record on COVID-19, Hong Kong, Uighurs, Tibet, Taiwan, and its appalling treatment of Canada’s two Michaels — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — it’s best to take what Xi says with a huge grain of sand. China’s reliance on coal makes everything Trudeau is doing in Canada irrelevant — including his national carbon tax/price — a policy the Americans have refused to implement to this day. That said, many Canadians agree with Trudeau that regardless of what China does, we have to do something, given rising global temperatures. Fair point. Just remember that what Canada does is irrelevant, other than as a symbolic gesture. lgoldstein@postmedia.com

Share this article in your social network

Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Toronto Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Send a message to Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig as they near 1,000 days in detention in China

This Sept. 4 marks 1,000 days that former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor have been jailed in China in apparent retaliation for the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada.

To mark this grim milestone, The Globe and Mail is inviting readers to send us hard copy or digital letters that we will forward to the Chinese embassy in Ottawa. These messages may also be featured in our 1,000 days in detention coverage. Let’s show the two Michaels that Canadians have not forgotten about them.

Open this photo in gallery On the left, Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yangi, China. On the right is Michael Kovrig, a Canadian former diplomat who now advises the International Crisis Group, an independent nongovernmental organization that tries to defuse international conflict. The Globe is collecting letters from Canadians to mark the two Michaels' 1,000 days in detention. The Globe and Mail

Throughout their detention, Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor were interrogated in conditions similar to solitary confinement. Initially, guards even seized Mr. Kovrig’s glasses.

Story continues below advertisement

Both men were arrested shortly after Canada detained Ms. Meng, daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, in December, 2018, on a U.S. Justice Department extradition request. Ms. Meng is wanted for alleged bank fraud related to violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been in Chinese jails for 900 days and counting. The story so far

As tensions rise with China, we need to keep old Cold War lessons in mind

In December, 2020, Mr. Spavor wrote a wish list that offers a glimpse of his life in a Chinese detention centre. On the handwritten note, he asks for a new terry cloth headband and wristbands – “any color is good, surprise me :)” – and a new sleep mask. He adds that the latter should be durable because he uses it “2-3 times a day” – an indication that he is kept under 24-hour lighting.

Open this photo in gallery Mr. Spavor’s request list is heavy with books, specifying exact titles of Chinese study guides, “I need all the practice I can get”, he writes, as well as books on amazing stories and guidebooks to language, vocabulary and writing. Handout

Send your letter or message to:

The Globe and Mail – Attention: Two Michaels

351 King Street East, Suite 1600

Toronto, ON

M5A 0N1

Story continues below advertisement

Or e-mail audience@globeandmail.com

For the two Michaels, the road out of China may go through Washington

With files from Robert Fife, Steven Chase and Nathan VanderKlippe

Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.