Sentencing Hearing Date Set in Major Cocaine Import Case – Lethbridge | The Canadian News

Gurminder and Kirandeep Toor’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for the new year, after the Crown questioned Kirandeep’s doctor.

The California husband and wife were found guilty by a jury in April of importing 99 kilograms of cocaine after the drug was discovered in their commercial truck at the Coutts border crossing.

The hearing was originally scheduled for November 26, but was delayed after a note provided by the doctor revealed that Kirandeep is pregnant and unable to travel from Edmonton.

On Friday, Dr. Tania Thapar clarified her writing, saying that Kirandeep is experiencing symptoms including nausea, vomiting and low back pain, which may be symptoms of pregnancy.

She testified that long car trips, which Thapar defined as “more than an hour,” with these problems could cause Kirandeep to lose fluids and pose a risk to the pregnancy.

Thapar added that those problems can be more serious in the first trimester of pregnancy and that is why he recommended that Kirandeep not travel until February.

The crown asked whether taking breaks and drinking fluids during a trip could mitigate the potential problems posed by long-distance travel, but Thapar said he couldn’t guarantee that would help.

The doctor has prescribed medication to treat nausea and vomiting, but says his client tells him that his symptoms are not improving.

The two had been transporting agricultural products from California to Alberta. Police said that while searching the cabin of his vehicle, officers opened a microwave and found bricks of what they suspected was a narcotic.

A total of 84 bricks were discovered with an estimated street value of between $ 6.7 million and $ 8.4 million. At the time, RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency called it a record drug bust for the Coutts border crossing.

2:11Record Drug Seizure at Alberta Border Crossing Drops 84 Bricks of Suspected Cocaine

Both Gurminder and Kirandeep were convicted of importing a controlled substance, and Gurminder was also convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Kirandeep was convicted of the lesser charge of simple possession of drugs.

The sentencing hearing is now scheduled for January 6, and Kirandeep will appear virtually from a courtroom in Edmonton, unless he is deemed fit to travel before then.