A Brampton, ON man has pleaded guilty to being part of an international conspiracy that smuggled $120 million worth of cocaine through Western New York. The U.S. Attorney's Office says 47-year-old Harinder Dhaliwal is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $10-million-dollar fine when he goes before Senior U.S. District Judge William Skretny on August 16.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch, who is handling the case, authorities seized 230 kilograms of cocaine - the largest seizure of its kind in the Western District's history - at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Its value is $120 million.
Also seized were hundreds of pounds of ecstasy and marijuana. Lynch said Dhaliwal used tractor-trailers with false compartments within the floor to smuggle drugs across border bridges.
Six others - Ravinder Arora, Michael Bagri, Parminder Sidhu, Alvin Randhawa, Gursharan Singh and Huy Hoang Nguyen - were charged in the conspiracy and have been convicted.