Two men were arrested near Creston on Friday (Oct. 23), after illegally crossing the border from Idaho while allegedly fleeing U.S. border agents.
Jason Arkinstall and Lawrence Dwyer were taken into police custody in Canada and face drug trafficking charges, according to a statement from the RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit released this week.
Both appeared in a Cranbrook court on Tuesday morning for a bail hearing.
U.S. law enforcement agents in Idaho were tipped off to suspicious activity on a remote forest service road near the Canadian border, discovering two suspects attempting to hide before taking off into Canada, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Near the suspects hiding spot, border agents found five duffel bags containing illegal narcotics — approximately 84 pounds of cocaine with a value of $1.2 million and 198 pounds of methamphetamine with a value of $960,000.
After notifying Canadian authorities, Arkinstall and Dwyer were arrested by the federal RCMP’s Border Integrity Team based out of Osoyoos, with support from Police Dog Services, and members of the Creston and Cranbrook detachments.
A dark-coloured Range Rover was also spotted leaving from the area, but Idaho State Police were able to find it on Highway 95. The driver was taken into custody in connection with narcotics smuggling and the vehicle was seized.
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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