Submitted Photo Canadian Border Services Agency officers seized 895 pounds of methamphetamine while inspecting a semi-truck attempting to cross at the border crossing south of Boissevain on Jan. 14.

A Winnipeg, Canada, truck driver has been charged in a Manitoba court with attempting to smuggle large quantities of methamphetamine through the Boissevain, Canada, (Dunseith) port of entry at the Manitoba-North Dakota border.

Komalpreet Singh Sidhu, 29, Winnipeg, was arrested on Jan. 14 after a screening search of the semi-truck he was driving by Canada Border Services Agency officers as he attempted to enter Canada.

CBSA officers discovered and seized 895 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in the vehicle, according to a release from the CBSA, which estimated the seized value of the approximately four million illicit doses of meth at over $50.78 million.

Sidhu and the suspected narcotics were transferred to the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police before his first court appearance on Feb. 1. Sidhu faces charges of importation of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Sidhu was granted bail by the court after the Feb. 1 hearing, which required him to pay $20,000, wear an ankle monitor and abide by other court-ordered conditions.

Janalee Bell-Boychuk, CBSA regional director general of the Prairie Region, described the seizure as the “largest” that officers have ever made in the Prairies.

“This substantial seizure by the Canada Border Services Agency means that approximately 4 million illicit methamphetamine doses will not reach our streets and takes away over 50 million dollars from the hands of organized crime networks and local drug traffickers,” Manitoba RCMP Inspector Joe Telus said in a news release. “These drugs were destined not only for the streets of Winnipeg, but throughout Manitoba and beyond. There is no doubt this shipment would have inflicted significant harm to our communities.”

Sidhu’s next court date is scheduled for March 14.