Ontario Man Charged as Driver in International Drug Courier Scam

Police near Toronto have arrested a 36-year-old accused of chauffeuring unwitting drug mules recruited through bogus employment ads.

Ontario Man Charged as Driver in International Drug Courier Scam

Authorities in Waterloo Region have arrested a 36-year-old man they say ferried recruits for a narcotics ring that duped young Ontarians into carrying contraband overseas.

Alexander Kwan was apprehended following a search of a Markham residence on June 11. He faces two counts: possession with intent to traffic and possession for exportation. Investigators allege he transported would-be couriers to airports, knowing they were being used as unwitting mules.

The operation came to light after a W5 documentary exposed how the syndicate lured victims through phony job offers. A teenager from Cambridge, given the pseudonym Jade, responded to an advertisement for a courier role and was told she would be transporting lawful goods. Upon landing in Hong Kong last autumn, border agents found 25 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her baggage. She has been imprisoned since September, allowed a single ten-minute call to relatives each month.

Another young adult from the same area, called Omar, fell into the same trap and is also jailed abroad.

The group's mastermind communicated using only a punctuation mark as an online handle, leading investigators to dub the outfit the "dot network." Several recruiters have been identified as hailing from the same part of Canada.

Kwan appeared remotely from Maplehurst Correctional Centre. His representative requested a later date to apply for release pending trial.

One victim's mother, speaking from Cambridge, said she wants Ottawa to press foreign officials to free her daughter and stop further exploitation of Canadian youth.

Source: CTV News

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)