BC RCMP seeks INTERPOL Red Notice after convicted Surrey drug trafficker flees to India
Posted December 13, 2023 11:08 am.
Last Updated December 13, 2023 7:48 pm.
Mounties in B.C. have issued a Canada-wide warrant and are requesting an INTERPOL Red Notice from international police forces after a Surrey man convicted of drug trafficking fled the country while awaiting sentencing.
The BC RCMP says Raj Kumar Mehmi, a 60-year-old truck driver from Surrey, was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison after being found guilty of smuggling 80 kilograms of cocaine into B.C. through the Pacific Highway border crossing.
“With about half of the toxic drug deaths in B.C. involving stimulants such as cocaine, this significant drug seizure and the resulting criminal conviction … demonstrates our firm commitment in keeping Canadians safe from the most serious criminal threats facing our nation,” Supt. Bert Ferreira, officer in charge of the BC RCMP Border Integrity Program, said Wednesday.
According to police, Mehmi was initially arrested on Nov. 17, 2017, after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) randomly selected his truck for a secondary examination and found 80 “sealed bricks” of cocaine inside the semi-trailer truck he was driving.
“At the time of this seizure, the bulk street value of the cocaine was estimated at $3.2 million,” police explained Wednesday.
Mehmi was then charged with importation of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
According to police, he was found guilty on both charges in September 2022 and a subsequent sentencing hearing was scheduled for Jan. 9, 2023.
“On October 11, 2022, Mehmi fled to India after boarding a flight from Vancouver, BC, and arriving in New Delhi the following day,” RCMP Corp. Arash Seyed said.
“Since Mehmi failed to appear for his sentencing hearing, an application to sentence him in absentia was filed, and subsequently granted on September 15, 2023.”
His sentencing hearing took place in November. He was given nine years in prison for importation and six years for trafficking. Mehmi also received a lifetime ban on firearms.
Under the INTERPOL Red Notice, police are requesting help from international counterparts to help “locate and provisionally arrest Mehmi, pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
The RCMP says he was issued a new passport and is a Canadian citizen.
“If you locate Mehmi, or have information regarding his whereabouts, please do not approach him, and contact your local police agency, or anonymously report it through the BC Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-222-8477,” Seyed said.
