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NEW WESTMINSTER — A British Columbia woman who worked in Punjabi-language broadcasting has been sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison after attempting to smuggle more than 100 kilograms of methamphetamine into Canada from the United States.
Sukhvinder Kaur Sangha pleaded guilty to unlawful importation in 2024 after she was arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency having fled a border crossing in Surrey, B.C., at “high speed” in a rental vehicle in October 2021.
Sangha’s sentence was handed down by the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on April 10, and the ruling says she gave “untruthful testimony” by claiming she was being threatened and coerced into smuggling the drugs.
Justice John Gibb-Carsley says in his reasons for sentence that Sangha showed up at the Pacific Border crossing on Oct. 21, 2021, in a rental car with Florida plates, telling guards she had been in Washington State for her aunt’s funeral.
The reasons say Sangha fled the border crossing after being flagged for a secondary search of the vehicle, leading to a chase before she was pulled over on 16th Avenue in Surrey.
The ruling says a search of the vehicle turned up four duffel bags containing 108 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an estimated value of between $1 million and $10 million.
It says Sangha, now 47, was born in Prince George and worked for a decade as a Punjabi language radio and television producer who produced news stories about crime and interviewed “ministers, celebrities, members of provincial Parliament, and police officers.”
The judge found Sangha’s testimony to be untruthful, which “negates the remorse that would otherwise be evinced through her guilty plea.”
“I expect that Ms. Sangha is remorseful because she was caught and now must face the consequences of her actions, but that is different than being remorseful for her offending behaviour,” the judge wrote.
Text message evidence led the judge to believe that Sangha was likely a “trusted and willing participant” in the drug smuggling operation rather than a victim of coercion, having claimed she’d received threats against her son.
The texts, the judge found, also showed that she’d imported drugs at other times before her arrest, and the language and tone she used when arranging cross-border trips did “not accord with her narrative that she was fearful.”
Sangha, the ruling says, “has some celebrity profile in her community as a Punjabi language radio and television host and media presence.”
“I derive no pleasure in sentencing you,” the judge told Sangha. “What I hope you heard and understand is that there are significant risks, dangers and consequences associated with the illegal drug trade. It is not a victimless crime.”
“My hope is that you can use your time of incarceration productively and positively such that this is your last interaction with the criminal justice system,” the judge said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2026.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
