Ex-customs agent sentenced to 11 years in Quebec for role in cocaine case
Posted June 27, 2017 3:09 pm.
Last Updated June 28, 2017 9:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, – A former customs agent has been given an 11-year prison term for turning a blind eye to the importation of 182 kilograms of cocaine into Canada.
A Quebec judge sentenced Stefanie McClelland in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on Tuesday after a jury convicted the mother of four last month.
The Crown was seeking a 15-year prison term, while the defence suggested five years.
In December 2014, McClelland allowed a vehicle carrying unconcealed bags of cocaine to enter Canada at the Lacolle border crossing.
She testified she was distracted at the time.
Testimony revealed McClelland had sent a text message to the alleged head of a drug-trafficking ring to tell him she was at the Nexus entry point. The drug-laden vehicle arrived just minutes later and sailed through in a matter of seconds without its occupants having their passports checked.
(Radio-Canada)