VANCOUVER: Gurtej Singh Smagh now Faces U.S. Drug Trafficking Charges .He was permitted to remain in Canada after serving a prison sentence in the United States for drug smuggling is now among several individuals facing serious U.S. federal charges in connection with an alleged international drug trafficking network.
According to court and immigration records, Gurtej Singh Smagh, also known as Raj Smagh, had successfully appealed a deportation order in Canada in 2008 after completing a nine-month prison sentence in Washington State for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. At the time, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that humanitarian considerations, including his family ties and community support in British Columbia, justified allowing him to stay in the country.
The immigration adjudicator concluded that removing Smagh would cause hardship because most of his close family lived in Canada and he had demonstrated the potential for rehabilitation. The ruling stayed his removal order, giving him an opportunity to prove he could become a law-abiding member of society.
However, U.S. authorities have now named Smagh in a sweeping federal indictment announced this week targeting alleged transnational organized crime groups. Prosecutors accuse him of participating in a sophisticated cross-border drug trafficking operation that allegedly moved large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from the United States into Canada.