NEWPORT — Cedrick Bourgault-Morin, 22, of Quebec, Canada was sentenced this week for smuggling 281,307 pills Xanax into the United States.
The judge sentenced Bourgault-Morin to 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment, to be followed by one year of supervised release.
According to court records, at approximately 1:00 a.m. on January 13, 2016, three United States Border Patrol agents responded to the area of the international border near the village of North Troy.
Agents observed Bourgault-Morin wearing white camouflage clothing, and walking on the tracks. He was pulling a plastic sled behind him, loaded with a large object wrapped in white camouflage.
As he started to conceal the sled and its contents with snow, agents approached him, apprehended him, and seized the sled.
The agents discovered a large duffle bag on the sled.
A search of Bourgault-Morin’s person revealed he did not possess a wallet or any identification documents, no cellular telephone, or other common items.
Other than his clothing, the only item on him was a silver folding lock-blade knife.
Upon further inspection in Newport, agents discovered the duffle to contain 300 vacuum-sealed plastic bags, containing a total of 281,307 pills.
Each pill bore markings consistent with those used to identify Xanax, which is a brand name for Aprazolam.
Aprazolam is a benzodiazepine class of psychoactive drug typically prescribed as an anti-anxiety medication and a Schedule IV drug.
The 300 bags of pills weighed approximately 182.82 pounds and had a value of approximately $1.6 million.
