BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Canadian man is facing drug charges for allegedly trying to transport more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana into the United States at the Peace Bridge
Xiao Liu, 27, is charged with possessing with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and importation of marijuana into the United States.
Investigators say Customs and Border Patrol officers encountered Liu, who was in a commercial vehicle at the Peace Bridge. According to officers, Liu stated he was transporting a shipment of wax. When officers asked Liu to open the curtain to the sleeper cab, they noticed black bags filling the sleeper cab from the floor to the ceiling. When questioned, Liu allegedly told officers the bags belonged to a friend and he was taking them to Buffalo.
Upon further inspection, CBP says an officer physically inspected the tractor cab and detected a smell consistent with marijuana, and observed hockey bags stacked from the floor to the ceiling in the bunk area of the tractor cab. When the officer opened one of the bags, there were multiple vacuum-sealed bags of a green leafy substance, suspected to be marijuana.
Officers took Liu into custody at that time.
Investigators say there were 30 hockey bags filled with 1,139 vacuum-sealed bags of suspected marijuana weighing approximately 1,281 pounds.
If Liu is convicted of the charges, he could face up to 40 years in prison.
