Although weapons charges against three men arrested last summer at the Sault Ste. Marie border have been withdrawn, the multiple drug charges they each face are still making their way through the court system.
Twenty-nine-year-old Satnam Singh was arrested on Aug. 26, 2023, along with Sukhmandeep Singh Hundal and Gurkirat Singh Dhaliwal, both 28, at the Canadian point of entry at 125 Huron Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Court documents reveal the arrests were made by the RCMP.
Singh and Dhaliwal both hail from Brampton, while Hundal's home address is listed in court documents as being in Caledon, Ont.
The three men each face three drug charges, including possession of opium and possession of heroin. A third charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking methamphetamine is also currently being pursued by the Crown against the three men.
The charges have not yet been tested in court and the men are considered innocent until proven guilty.
Reached by phone on Wednesday, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Jennifer Goodings alleged about one kilogram of methamphetamine was found during the stop. She also confirmed no news release was sent to media in relation to the arrest.
Multiple weapons charges originally laid against each of the men have since been withdrawn by the Crown.
Those 11 withdrawn charges include multiple counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a restricted/prohibited firearm with ammunition readily available, as well as unsafe transportation/storage of a firearm.
The weapons identified on the charge sheet included two flare guns believed to be adapted to fire shotgun shells and two pellet guns believed to be adapted to fire .357 ammunition, along with a sword, brass knuckles, a baseball bat and baton.
Two of the men had scheduled court appearances on May 15 in Sault Ste. Marie.
Hundal appeared for a bail review by phone from the Maplehurst Correctional Complex, with the assistance of a Punjabi interpreter. The bail review was waived by defence.
Singh is currently being held at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre. His bail review was held over three weeks so recently retained defence attorney Jessica Beliisle can review documents. He will appear June 5 to be spoken to and for a potential bail review to be held a that time.
The three men are scheduled to attend a judicial pre-trial on Aug. 8, with a return to video remand court on Aug. 15.