HALIFAX — A British man who was jailed six days after Canadian border agents carried out a drug test on a recently deceased friend's ashes says he's upset it took so long before a retest allowed his release.
Russell Laight, 41, was travelling from Britain to Nova Scotia when his flight was diverted to St. John's, NL, due to a storm on March 2.
He says when he landed he was "gobsmacked" when Canada Border Services Agency agents took him aside to say a test showed the ashes of a boyhood friend he was bringing to friends in Nova Scotia turned out to have tested positive for an illegal drug.
Laight says after being arrested and charged, he was asked for a large sum for bail, and declined because he felt that further information would show he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
He says a follow up test by Health Canada, requested by his lawyer, countered the first result, and Laight carried on to Halifax without the ashes.
The British man from Stourport-on-Severn and the Halifax friends he's staying with — Rich Croft and Tracey Jonasson — say in future the agency needs to ensure that secondary tests are carried out immediately to avoid improperly detaining people.
Laight also says he realizes he should have filled out proper forms in order to transport human remains.
