Guillaume Latour-Laitre, 26, of Prevost, Que., has pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, after U.S. border officers discovered 142 kg of cocaine hidden a trailer.
Latour-Laitre admitted that from November to December 2019 — while the vice-president of a Quebec trucking company — he trafficked cocaine from the U.S. to Canada via tractor-trailer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
(Photo: iStock)
On Dec. 7, 2019, Latour-Laitre’s co-conspirator and employee at the trucking company, Jason Nelson, attempted to leave the U.S. for Canada at the Derby Line, Vermont Port of Entry.
At the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers performed an outbound inspection on Nelson’s tractor-trailer and discovered approximately 142 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment in the trailer. Latour-Laitre was extradited from Canada in December 2022 to face the charges.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 12, 2023, Latour-Laitre faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison, a term of supervised release of between five years and life, and a maximum $10 million fine.
Nelson was sentenced on April 27, 2022, to 72 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
