BUFFALO — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Ajaypal Dhillon, 20, of Ontario, Canada, who was convicted of smuggling merchandise into the United States, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who handled the case, stated that on the afternoon of July 27, 2023, Dhillon drove a commercial tractor-trailer to the Peace Bridge Port of Entry seeking entry into the United States from Canada. At primary inspection, Dhillon indicated he was transporting frozen waffles destined for a Publix grocery store warehouse in Georgia. Publix representatives stated that the shipment was not expected, and the purported shipper of the product confirmed that the shipment was fraudulent. Dhillon was referred to secondary inspection, where Customs and Border Protection officers discovered boxes containing over 2000 pounds of marijuana and over 50 kilograms of ketamine. Subsequent investigation identified five prior fraudulent trips made by Dhillon, four of the trips alleged the transport of candy, the fifth was also for waffles after an attempt to transport “candy” was denied by the customs broker.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino.
