Two Canadian Border Guards Arrested in Cocaine Trafficking Scheme

Two Canadian border guards are among five people who are facing charges in an alleged cocaine trafficking operation run through Toronto's main airport.

The investigation, which has been going on for a year and a half, has included seizures of cocaine destined for Toronto from Jamaica and Colombia, CBC reports. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleges the border guards were involved in trafficking coke between January 2016 and April 2017 and that the group as a whole imported 30 kilos of the drug to the country.

The Canadian Border Services agents facing charges are 37-year-old Patrick Ruddy of Toronto and 41-year-old Brano Andrews of Barrie, Ontario. The others facing charges in connection to the investigation include Roberto Leyva, 32, of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Keith Hamid, 41, and Rennie Escoffery, 57, of Brampton, Ontario.

"These allegations in no way reflect upon the true professionalism, dedication and integrity displayed each and every day by our CBSA staff, " the CBSA regional director for the Greater Toronto Area, Goran Vragovic, said in a media release.

The two border guards are facing charges of breach of trust, importing a controlled substance, and conspiracy to import a controlled substance. Leyva and Hamid are facing charges of conspiracy to import a controlled substance and importing a controlled substance. Escoffery is facing one charge of conspiracy to import a controlled substance.

All were scheduled for bail hearings Thursday in Brampton. The RCMP investigation into the alleged trafficking ring is ongoing.

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