An errant GPS led a driver travelling from Montreal to Calgary with more than four kilograms of meth in his car across the Canadian border and into the United States.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency says Constantine Xethalis of Montreal was arrested after 4.4 kilograms of methamphetamine tablets were found inside his vehicle. Custom officials say he attempted to cross into the United States via the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Sarnia, Ont. with Port Huron, Mich. on Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the eastern district of Michigan, Xethalis was told to transport “something” from Montreal to Calgary as a way of waiving a $2,000 gambling debt. He was also told to pick up two people in Toronto for the trip.
Xethalis allegedly told investigators he knew he was transporting pills to Calgary, but didn’t know what they were.
The complaint also indicates that once Xethalis picked up the two other passengers, one of them used his iPhone’s GPS to direct them to Calgary, which then led them to the Blue Water Bridge.
After approaching the border, none of the passengers could provide border agents with identification, so the agents conducted a secondary search of the vehicle, where the methamphetamine tablets were found.
“This is a perfect example of the type of activities that (Customs and Border Protection) sees every day at ports of entry around the United States,” Port Director Michael Fox said in a news release. “Our officers here in Port Huron are true professionals and can be proud today knowing they stopped 10 pounds of drugs from making it to the streets of America.”
