A Canada Border Services Agency employee at the Aldergrove crossing is wanted by U.S. authorities in connection with allegations of drug smuggling.

Jasbir Singh Grewal is the subject of an indictment, authorized by a grand jury, and filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, on June 18, alleging one count of conspiracy to export cocaine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence.

The indictment alleges that Grewal, and one or more others, conspired to export cocaine into Canada, at Aldergrove, between June 2007 and November, 2007.

The indictment states that as part of the conspiracy, Grewal "abused his position of trust and influence with the government of Canada by allowing co-conspirators traveling by recreational vehicle to exit the United States at the Lynden/Aldergrove Port of Entry, and enter British Columbia knowing that the vehicle contained smuggled drugs."

The indictment alleges that at a time unknown, but prior to July 24, 2007, Grewal arranged with other known and unknown co-conspirators to export approximately 270 kilograms of cocaine from the U.S. to Canada.

Emily Langlie, a public affairs officer with the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington, said an extradition application is in process.

On July 24, 2007, a motor home driven by co-conspirators was allegedly stopped in Orange County, California, with 270 kilograms of cocaine.

The indictment says that on approximately 11 other occasions between June and November of 2007 Grewal knowingly passed a vehicle containing cocaine through the international border into Canada, and that he "was typically paid $50,000 for successfully smuggling each load of cocaine."

The indictment alleges that Grewal, with other co-conspirators, co-ordinated the timing of entry of illegal shipments, to coincide with his job schedule, and that the driver was directed to the booth he was working at. Further, to avoid detection, Grewal allegedly failed to document the border crossings of the recreational vehicle containing cocaine.

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Pennie Libby said Wednesday that CBSA is aware of the U.S. allegations, and is co-operating fully with the investigation.

However, Libby said she was not at liberty to divulge personal information about employees of the border agency.

RCMP Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Border Integrity Program, Federal Enforcement Section in Vancouver, said the RCMP and the CBSA assisted in the investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"It is my understanding that (Grewal) is still in Canada," Pound said.

Langlie said the extradition application involves a "lengthy package. Material is still being drafted."

The package is first sent to the Office of Internal Affairs in Washington D.C., before being forwarded to Ottawa.

Sgt. Pound said that the application would be handled by the Department of Justice in Ottawa. Ottawa must issue a provisional arrest warrant based on the U.S. application, before the RCMP would act to facilitate a hearing, Pound said.

It would then be up to a Canadian court to determine if there are grounds to extradite Grewal to the U.S.

"We often hope the accused would choose to come down to resolve the matter . . . to avoid the extradition process," Langlie said.

However that has not happened yet, she said.

The U.S. penalty for the charge against Grewal is a mandatory minimum 10-year term, and up to life in prison, with a $4 million fine.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of any property, derived directly or indirectly from the alleged offences. Further U.S. authorities seek forfeiture of any such property, transferred, sold or deposited with, a third person.

Libby said that CBSA has "very strict standards of conduct for employees" and "violations are taken very seriously." The consequences can range up to termination.

She added that the agency has confidence in the integrity, professionalism and honesty of its employees, and that the investigation "of a single officer doesn't in anyway diminish our trust in our border service officers."

It is the second such case in less than two years. Another CBSA border guard, Baljinder Kandola, is due back in Surrey Provincial Court Aug. 19 after being charged in a similar smuggling case. Kandola faces counts of breach of trust and conspiracy to import cocaine and firearms after he was arrested in October 2007 along with others in B.C. and Washington.