Canadian Punjabi Broadcaster Sentenced to 5.5 Years for Meth Smuggling
A 47-year-old woman who worked as a Punjabi radio and television host in Canada for the past decade has been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison after being caught red-handed while smuggling methamphetamine from the United States in 2021. The verdict was delivered recently following Sukhvinder Kaur Sangha's guilty plea to importing drugs, with police estimating the value between $1 million and $10 million.
Defense Claims Coercion Due to Threats Against Son
According to reports from the Vancouver Sun, Sangha's lawyer argued that she was forced to commit the crime to pay someone who threatened to kill or harm her then-teenage son if she did not pay $150,000. In court, her legal representative sought a sentence of two years or less of house arrest plus three years' probation, while the prosecutor pushed for a much harsher penalty of 10 to 12 years in prison.
Details of the 2021 Drug Importation Attempt
On October 18, 2021, Sangha drove a rental car with a Florida license plate through the US-Canada border in Surrey. She presented her Canadian passport and informed officers that she had flown to Washington for her aunt's funeral. When a Canada Border Services Agency officer requested her to pull over for a vehicle search, she accelerated away instead.
Another border officer pursued her, honking repeatedly until she eventually slowed down. Upon inspection, officers discovered foul-smelling duffel bags containing drugs, along with two iPhones and an erased iPad. Records indicate that Sangha had made three similar trips to the United States earlier that year in August, September, and October, though it remains unclear whether she imported drugs on those occasions as well.
Background of Sukhvinder Kaur Sangha
Sangha is an Indian-origin Canadian citizen born in Prince George. She received training as a pharmacy technician and worked in that capacity for some time before transitioning to a career as a Punjabi-language producer and broadcaster over a ten-year period. As a host, she interviewed politicians, police officers, and celebrities, and was an active community member who spoke out against youth crime and drug use.
A single mother of three children, Sangha also provides care for her 78-year-old sick mother. The prosecutor emphasized in court that if such offenses are not adequately penalized, criminal gangs will continue to exploit vulnerable individuals like Sangha, promising them lenient sentences if apprehended.
