Toronto: Three Indo-Canadian men have been charged with smuggling heroin into Canada through human couriers and a nationwide alert has been issued for the ring leader, police said.

Based in Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto, the three men - Manjit Dhanoa, 31, Harvishal Kler, 23, and Bakshish Ghai, 21 - were part of an international gang involved in bringing heroin into Canada.

Dhanoa, said to be the ring leader of the drug gang, is absconding and an alert has been issued for him.

After an extensive probe, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigation unit at Toronto's Pearson International Airport cracked the gang network earlier this week.

Intensive investigations got underway after Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at Toronto airport arrested couriers with 12.8 kg of heroin.

Revealing the modus operandi of the drug gang, police Friday said that the Indo-Canadian men are allegedly part of a criminal organisation that uses human couriers to smuggle heroin through Toronto's airport.

The drug was then distributed throughout North America.

According to police, the three men used to recruit couriers and arrange their travel to a number of South Asian countries to pick up heroin from their contacts there.

"This group stood to make a significant profit at great expense to the health and well being of our citizens," the RCMP said in a statement.

"It takes the kind of partnerships seen in this investigation to effectively combat criminal enterprise and protect our communities," it added.

 

Source : ians