News Release

Pacific Region

Three Men, Including Two Screening Officers, Charged For Conspiracy to Export Drugs

Vancouver, British Columbia, May 27, 2011 – Two screening officers and a third man have been charged after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and its partners linked them to an attempt to export 14.77 kg of MDMA (ecstasy) at Vancouver International Airport.

This file is a direct result of intelligence gathering and effective cooperation between the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Vancouver International Airport Authority and Transport Canada.

On May 9, 2011, CBSA officers stopped a passenger in the post-security section of the U.S. departure gates. During questioning, the subject admitted to carrying drugs in his backpack. The subject was escorted to the CBSA secondary area for examination, where CBSA officers located 14.77 kg of suspected MDMA in the 20-year-old Vancouver man's backpack. CBSA officers immediately arrested the man and seized the contraband. The RCMP's Border Integrity Program (BIP) and Drug Enforcement Branch were alerted right away, and an investigation was initiated.

In the days following the first arrest, an intensive investigation by the BIP uncovered a conspiracy to export MDMA through Vancouver International Airport. The conspiracy allegedly involved two uniformed pre-board screening officers working for a company contracted by the CATSA.

By May 20, 2011, the BIP had gathered sufficient evidence to arrest 24-year-old Gurvinder Singh Pahl of Richmond and 31-year-old Ajitpal Singh Judge of Surrey. Both men were remanded in custody until May 24, 2011, at which time they appeared in Richmond Provincial Court. They have since been released on bail and will make their next court appearance on June 15, 2011. They are each facing charges of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking, Conspiracy to Traffic in a Controlled Substance, and Breach of Trust. Pahl is facing an additional charge of Failure to Comply with a Probation Order.

The drug courier arrested on May 9, Dylan Scott Green of Vancouver, was released at the time but has now been arrested on upgraded charges of Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking and Conspiracy to Traffic in a Controlled Substance.

The RCMP investigation is ongoing.

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Released by:

Cst. Michael McLaughlin
RCMP Federal Media Relations Officer
778-571-7333

Faith St. John
CBSA Communications Advisor
604-666-5492

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