A truck driver convicted of having about $1 million worth of methamphetamine in a truck in St. Clair County will spend two years in federal prison.
Syed Shah pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in November in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 24.
“The federal judge carefully considered that Mr. Shah did not know the type or the quantity of drugs that were placed in his truck. He accepted responsibility for attempting to transport what he believed was a tobacco product,” Shah’s attorney, Sanford Schulman, said in an email to the Detroit Free Press after the sentencing.
“This case highlights the efforts high ranking drug dealers will go to find unsuspecting truckers to carry packages across an international border that they themselves would never attempt. Mr. Shah never received any compensation. He is a father of three young children, no criminal history and he received a master’s degree in English while residing in Canada. He was literally involved for less than one hour and his poor decision to allow the transport of the items in his truck has deeply impacted his family.”
Shah and Navjot Singh were accused of conspiring to smuggle 425 kilograms of methamphetamine out of the United States into Canada. The case against Singh is pending.
A federal agent in Port Huron saw an Ontario-plated commercial vehicle parked next to a California-plated truck in the back of a gas station parking lot in Memphis, which straddles Macomb and St. Clair counties, on Sept. 11. The driver doors were open and two people were seen at the rear of the trailers, appearing to be moving items between the trailers, according to an affidavit.
The California-plated truck, driven by Singh, later was stopped on I-69. The Canadian-plated truck, driven by Shah, was followed to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, where it was stopped as it was seen trying to leave the U.S., according to court records.
A law enforcement dog hit on the rear doors of the trailer. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found numerous resealable plastic bags containing opaque-color crystals that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the plea agreement.
Prosecutors called the offense “extremely serious” in their sentencing memorandum.
In his sentencing memorandum, Schulman wrote: “In the scheme of drug trafficking, Syed represents the lowest hanging fruit.” He added: “Like many ‘mules’ in the drug trade, Syed knows little about the intricate details of the drug trade. This was, of course, intentional. His job was simply to drive and take directions.”
Schulman wrote that Shah, who turns 40 this year, was asked to meet another truck driver a few miles from the border and the other person put the drugs into Shah’s truck. Shah was told it was a form of Shisha tobacco that may not be legal to transport, Schulman wrote, adding Shah never received any payment for the trip.
Shah agreed to drive the load for a fee as he was struggling to pay his mortgage and was trying to pay back a business loan, according to the sentencing memorandum.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trucker hauling $1M in meth near Blue Water Bridge gets 2 years prison
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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