ManitobaA Winnipeg court heard why Canadian border officers decided to search a semi-trailer carrying cocaine hidden by loads of corn in a commercial truck that crossed the Manitoba border two years ago.Crown argues Varinder Kaushik, 32, knew of drugs in truck busted at Manitoba borderOzten Shebahkeget · CBC News · Posted: Nov 03, 2025 6:57 PM EST | Last Updated: November 3Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesAbout 63 kilograms of cocaine seized from Varinder Kaushik’s semi-trailer at the Emerson crossing is pictured at a July 2023 news conference. Kaushik pleaded not guilty to unlawfully possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and unlawfully importing cocaine in a Winnipeg courtroom Monday. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)A Winnipeg court heard why Canadian border officers decided to search a semi-trailer carrying cocaine hidden by loads of corn in a commercial truck that crossed the Manitoba border two years ago.Varinder Kaushik, 32, pleaded not guilty on Monday to unlawfully possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, unlawfully importing cocaine, laundering proceeds of crime, and unlawfully possessing the proceeds of crime in the form of Canadian currency over $5,000. Kaushik was charged after border services officers found 63 kilograms of cocaine — worth an estimated $6 million dollars — hidden in his commercial semi-trailer after he attempted to cross into Manitoba at the Emerson point of entry in July 2023.The Canadian Border Services Agency said at the time that it was their largest seizure of narcotics in Manitoba in five years.Richard Derasp, the border services officer who flagged Kaushik’s semi-trailer for a secondary inspection, testified that he did so because Kaushik gave unusual answers in their brief initial chat.Kaushik told Derasp he had been in the United States for two days, but Derasp said CBSA records showed he had only been gone for one day.”I found this unusual because, in my experience, commercial drivers more often than not are consistently aware of how long they’ve been away from Canada,” Derasp testified.Derasp said the semi-trailer was filled with white bags of what he presumed to be corn atop of pallets. When he and another officer emptied the corn from the trailer, Derasp said they found a steel plate near the front that appeared “off” because it looked newer than the rest of the trailer.Derasp loosened part of the plate after standing on it, and the other officer used a fibre optic camera to look inside, court heard.”I was in relative disbelief at what I was seeing,” Derasp said. “It wasn’t a solid piece of steel. It was in fact a door.”Rossel Lapointe of the Canada Border Services Agency and Joe Telus, division intelligence officer with RCMP federal policing, stand next to the cocaine found in Kaushik’s semi-trailer at a July 2023 news conference. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)Derasp said the other officer had a look of “shock on his face” as he described seeing unusual packages of suspected narcotics underneath the metal plate.One of the 63 bricks found under the plate tested as 93 per cent pure cocaine, Crown prosecutor Matt Sinclair told the court.In his opening remarks, Sinclair said the Crown will prove that Kaushik had “knowledge and control” of the cocaine in his truck.Banking records also show that Kaushik was involved in laundering proceeds of crime since 2021, involving several companies and 50 bank accounts in his name, according to Sinclair.Court heard that Derasp had encountered Kaushik once before in March 2023, as one of his relatives sought immigration services at the Emerson checkpoint.Derasp said the interaction with Kaushik’s family member led him to look up Kaushik on Facebook, where he saw an image of Kaushik holding what appeared to be a handgun tucked into the waistband of his pants as he stood in front of a downtown Winnipeg building.Derasp said the image stood out to him, because it was unclear whether Kaushik was legally permitted to own the firearm or have it concealed in his pants.Search ‘absolutely not’ based on race: DeraspAmado Claros, Kaushik’s defence lawyer, asked Derasp during cross-examination whether he received unconscious bias training at the CBSA, given that Kaushik is of East Indian descent.”I did receive training on how to reduce racial profiling at the checkpoint in 2019,” Derasp replied.Claros asked Derasp if he wanted to take part in the secondary inspection because he’d already painted Kaushik as a “bad individual” and had a vested interest in seeing the inspection through.”That’s not true,” Derasp replied.Derasp told the Crown that it’s not uncommon for border services officers to take part in a search of a vehicle that they’ve flagged for secondary inspection.”It wasn’t based on race, was it sir?” Sinclair asked Derasp.”Absolutely not,” he replied.The judge-alone trial before Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel continues on Tuesday.ABOUT THE AUTHORÖzten Shebahkeget is a member of Northwest Angle 33 First Nation who grew up in Winnipeg’s North End. She has been writing for CBC Manitoba since 2022. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and a master’s in writing.Email: ozten.shebahkeget@cbc.ca
Man charged after over 60 kg of cocaine found in commercial truck full of corn pleads not guilty
