Whatcom County drug task force arrests two men, seizes five pounds of meth

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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A joint investigation by local and federal narcotics agents led to the Nov. 13 arrest of two men who are suspected of planning to smuggle five pounds of methamphetamine into Canada.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Avtar Singh Sidhu, 36, of Fresno, Calif., and Mandeep Gill, 32, of Bellingham in a parking lot in the 4100 block of Meridian Street and found the drug, worth $125,000 to $200,000, concealed in their car, according to federal court documents.

Before the arrest, the men met with a confidential informant working the Northwest Regional Drug Task Force who was to transport the drugs across the border for delivery in Surrey, B.C., according to the documents.

The informant was wearing a recording device and after enough evidence of the smuggling plan was obtained, including where the drugs were concealed and where they were to go once he crossed the border, he left the parking lot and agents made the arrests. Both men were booked into Whatcom County Jail before being released to federal custody.

The meth is believed to have come from Mexico. The informant tipped off agents about the smuggling plan on Nov. 6.