WASHINGTON: The Justice Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said Cedrick Bourgault-Morin, 22, of Quebec, was sentenced Monday.
Investigators said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials were patrolling the U.S.-Canada border about 1 a.m. on Jan. 13, when they saw Bourgault-Morin wearing white camouflage and pulling a plastic sled. Agents said Bourgault-Morin attempted to hide the sled in the snow, but was spotted and arrested.
According to investigators, Bourgault-Morin’s sled contained 281,307 Xanax pills. The 300 bags of pills weighed about 183 pounds and had a street value of $1.6 million, agents said. Officials said Bourgault-Morin did not have identification when he was stopped.
Agents said the railroad tracks on the border into the village of North Troy were known to be used by smuggling organizations to bring contraband into the U.S.
Bourgault-Morin was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, followed by a year of probation. He faced a maximum of five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
