A truck driver was sentenced to two years in prison this week for attempting to smuggle contraband into Canada.
The sentence was imposed on February 24th for the September 2025 event in St. Clair County, Michigan.
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According to the Detroit Free Press, truck driver Syed Shah agreed to meet another truck driver at a service station in Memphis to pick up what he believed to be shisha tobacco, which the other driver said might not be legal to transport. Law authorities tracked Shah to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and halted him at the border. The narcotics dog then detected contraband, leading to the discovery of $1 million in meth inside the trailer.
Shah agreed to transport the cargo for a charge in order to assist him in paying off his mortgage and a business loan that he was having difficulty repaying. Shah has no prior criminal history. The other driver, Navjot Singh, has yet to be charged.
“The federal judge carefully considered that Mr. Shah did not know the type or the quantity of drugs that were placed in his truck. He accepted responsibility for attempting to transport what he believed was a tobacco product,” Shah’s attorney, Sanford Schulman, said in an email to the Detroit Free Press.
“This case highlights the efforts high-ranking drug dealers will go to find unsuspecting truckers to carry packages across an international border that they themselves would never attempt. Mr. Shah never received any compensation. He is a father of three young children, no criminal history and he received a master’s degree in English while residing in Canada. He was literally involved for less than one hour and his poor decision to allow the transport of the items in his truck has deeply impacted his family.”
“In the scheme of drug trafficking, Syed represents the lowest hanging fruit.” said Schulman. “Like many ‘mules’ in the drug trade, Syed knows little about the intricate details of the drug trade. This was, of course, intentional. His job was simply to drive and take directions.”
Shah will spend two years in prison.
