A Mexican citizen is facing potential prison time in Canada after accidentally crossing the Canada-U.S.
border with $2 million worth of cocaine in his trunk.
The man, Federico Jimenez Martinez, claimed that he didn’t intend to come to Canada and was only transporting the drugs to protect his family from a Mexican cartel.
However, a Windsor judge has acquitted him on one charge but convicted him on the other.
According to court documents obtained by CTV News, Martinez drove a black suburban across the Ambassador Bridge into Canada on August 29, 2021.
He allegedly didn’t realize he was in Canada until he saw the Canadian patch on the officer’s uniform at the border booth.
During secondary inspection, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers discovered a spare tire in the trunk of the vehicle.
Inside the spare tire, they found 18 brick-like items of cocaine with an estimated street value of nearly $2 million.
Martinez was arrested and claimed that he was transporting the narcotics to protect his family from a cartel that had allegedly been threatening their safety in Mexico.
After a five-day trial, the crown attorney conceded that there wasn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Martinez knew he was crossing into Canada.
As a result, he was acquitted of the importation charge.
However, the judge expressed doubts about Martinez’s evidence, citing inconsistencies in his statements about where he lived in the U.S., why he made the trip to Michigan, and what he did the morning the drugs were placed in his vehicle.
Justice Kirk Munroe, who presided over the case, stated that he rejected Martinez’s explanation for the drug trip.
The judge found inconsistencies in Martinez’s evidence and concluded that he was a knowing participant in the drug conspiracy.
Martinez has been convicted of drug possession and is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in June.
During the trial, it was revealed that there were no fingerprints on either the spare tire or any of the 18 cocaine bricks seized from Martinez’s vehicle.
Additional evidence, including testimony from Martinez’s brother about phone calls he received after Martinez went missing, was presented in court.
For more details and comprehensive coverage of the trial, readers are encouraged to visit the online platform for additional information.
