California, Jan 8: Two Indian-origin truck drivers holding California commercial licences were arrested in the United States after police recovered 309 pounds of cocaine, valued at about $7 million (around Rs 63 crore), from their semi-truck, officials said.
The accused, identified as Gurpreet Singh (25) and Jasveer Singh (30), were taken into custody on January 3 and are currently lodged at Putnam County Jail in Indiana. Both face preliminary charges of narcotics dealing, a Level 2 felony, with bond set at $1 million each.
According to police records, the seizure was made during a routine stop when officers inspected the sleeper berth of the truck and noticed cardboard boxes concealed under a blanket. A police official said a free-air K-9 sniff alerted officers to narcotics, leading to the recovery of cocaine.
“Based on the alert from the K-9 unit, officers conducted a search and located multiple packages of suspected cocaine hidden inside the vehicle,” the police report stated.
Jasveer Singh reportedly told officers he was transporting an empty tractor-trailer to Richmond to wait for a load, a claim that later raised suspicion during the inspection.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued detainers against both men, citing concerns related to their immigration status. Authorities said the arrests were consistent with earlier Department of Homeland Security records linked to their entry and stay in the country.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun commended the state police, saying, “Indiana will not tolerate drug trafficking, and our law enforcement agencies will continue to act firmly against such crimes.”
The case has drawn attention as US authorities step up scrutiny of commercial driver licensing practices, particularly involving immigrant drivers. According to an Associated Press report, a federal Transportation Department review found that nearly 44 per cent of the country’s 16,000 truck driving programmes may fail to meet regulatory norms.
In California, about 17,000 truck drivers were recently notified that their commercial licences could be revoked after officials found that licence validity extended beyond their authorised period of stay in the US. The move has triggered legal challenges from immigrant truckers and advocacy groups.
