Two truckers were turned over to local authorities for prosecution after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $4.5 million worth of marijuana during an inspection of a truck at the U.S.-Canada border in North Dakota on Friday.
Officers discovered nearly 2,800 pounds of marijuana after referring a truck from Manitoba for a secondary inspection at the Pembina port of entry, CBP said in a statement on Monday.
The drivers, who were not identified, were subsequently turned over to the Pembina County Sheriff’s Department for prosecution, CBP spokesperson Jaime Ruiz told FreightWaves in an email.
The sheriff’s department declined to comment on the case, saying it was under investigation and that a press release was forthcoming.
Marijuana seizures from trucks entering the U.S. from Canada have become relatively common since the border closed for nonessential travel in March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19.
But most of them occur in the Detroit or Buffalo, New York, area. Still, seizures aren’t unheard of at Pembina, an important cross-border link for trucks from Manitoba.
CBP officers seized 134.5 pounds of THC extract, which was manifested as disinfectant, on March 18.
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