Over 280 Pounds Of Cocaine Seized By Border Agents In Berry Shipment

A Canadian man in possession of more than 280 pounds of cocaine which he tried to smuggle out with a shipment of blackberries was arrested at Blue Water Bridge by the Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to a statement issued by CBP Monday.

The man was arrested Sunday at the international bridge across the St. Clair River which links Port Huron, Michigan, the United States, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He was charged Monday in a federal complaint after agents seized the drugs which were kept in a tractor-trailer containing blackberries.

The CBP Port Huron Anti-Terrorism and Contraband Enforcement Team were conducting routine outbound inspections on the bridge at the time of the seizure. Officers selected a commercial truck shipment of berries destined to Canada for an enforcement exam.

When the bus was inspected and the driver interviewed, the officers found approximately four boxes containing plastic-wrapped packages of suspected narcotics, the statement said.

A field test on the substance was conducted by the officers and it tested positive for the properties of cocaine.

“This arrest demonstrates the continued effort by our officers, their dedication to our border security mission and the focus on the export of illicit narcotics,” Port Director Michael Fox said.

The man was identified as Dario Grujic of Guelph, Ontario, according to a report in Detroit Free Press. Grujic told officers he had a load of blackberries from Mexico he had picked up in Texas, the report said, adding Grujic acted oddly when the truck he was driving was undergoing an X-ray exam.

According to the report, officers found four anomalies in the x-rays which led them to two boxes behind the driver’s seat, within arm’s reach and two other boxes in the sleeper bunk. Taped packages containing individual kilogram-sized objects that were vacuum sealed were found inside the box, it added. There were 112 packages of cocaine altogether in the four boxes, the Daily News reported.

Grujic was arrested after the discovery and the field test of the substance.

"According to officers, Grujic did not ask why he was being placed in handcuffs at the time and instead merely slumped his head and remained quiet," a complaint filed in federal court said.

In the complaint, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gregory Abair noted Grujic's actions were consistent with that of a drug smuggler.

CBP records showed Grujic crossed into the U.S. in the same truck 25 times in the past six months, the most recent trip being through Port Huron on Oct. 15. The statement by the CBP said U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan accepted prosecution for the case regarding the incident. Grujic was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and made his initial appearance in federal court Monday, it added.