National

Truck driver gets 15 years in prison, flees to India

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Dec, 2023 11:02 AM

Police in British Columbia are asking Interpol to post a red notice for the arrest and return of a Surrey man who escaped to India after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into Canada from the United States.

RCMP say 60-year-old truck driver Raj Kumar Mehmi was sentenced in absentia by a B.C. provincial court judge to 15 years in prison in November after his arrest in 2017 for smuggling 80 kilograms of cocaine.

A red notice asks member countries to help locate, arrest and extradite a person to face criminal charges, and India is a member of Interpol.

Police say the 80 sealed bricks of cocaine were hidden inside a truck owned and driven by Mehmi while he was at the Pacific Highway border crossing into Metro Vancouver.

Mehmi was convicted of smuggling and trafficking in September 2022, but police say he boarded a flight from Vancouver to New Delhi a month later before he could be sentenced.

Police say a Canada-wide warrant for Mehmi has also been issued, and they are seeking the Interpol notice "as a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest" the man pending extradition or other legal actions.

Photo courtesy of IANS.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Fall sitting starts for B.C. legislature with four official parties

British Columbia politicians are back in the legislature for the fall session, and the seating arrangement looks a little different. The Conservative Party of B.C. now has official party status, complete with a nearly $400,000 annual budget, after former BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor last month to join John Rustad.

Fall sitting starts for B.C. legislature with four official parties

Federal ministers still lack mandate letters, two months after majority shuffled

Shortly after taking office in 2015, Trudeau's government announced it would publish the lists of tasks given to each minister, known as mandate letters. The documents lay out the priorities for each federal minister, and signal to public servants the timeline or scope of policies the government wants to advance.

Federal ministers still lack mandate letters, two months after majority shuffled

19-year-old clocked going 199 km on North Van highway

R-C-M-P in North Vancouver say a lead-footed driver with a learners licence is a lot poorer -- and less mobile -- today after making a bad choice on Friday night. Mounties say the 19-year-old was clocked doing 199 kilometres per hour in an 80-kilometre per hour zone along the Upper Levels Highway through North Van.

19-year-old clocked going 199 km on North Van highway

Interest rates to stay high

Experts are warning the next few years will likely see sharp mortgage payment increases amid expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer. Variable rate mortgage holders have already seen their payments surge by more than 49 per cent on average, according to Bank of Canada data, but many fixed rate holders still haven't felt the sharp rise in rates.

Interest rates to stay high

Who will become Manitoba's next premier? A look at party leaders vying for the job

Manitoba's provincial election is to take place Tuesday. Here's a look at the leaders of the province's three parties that have seats in the legislature.

Who will become Manitoba's next premier? A look at party leaders vying for the job

Diwali fireworks advisory issued despite warnings it might be discriminatory: emails

An Environment Canada advisory that singled out Diwali fireworks as a reason to prepare for poor air quality last October was issued despite multiple warnings from some staff about it being discriminatory. The advisory was edited and an apology issued within hours as complaints poured in to the national weather service the morning the annual Indian festival of lights was set to begin.