A Punjabi truck driver has been sentenced to six months of conditional house arrest after Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers caught him carrying opium disguised inside a vitamin bottle at the U.S.-Canada border.
 

The driver, identified as Iqbal Singh Kahlon, was intercepted in March this year during a routine inspection at the border crossing. CBSA officers deployed specially trained sniffer dogs—commonly used to inspect commercial trucks entering Canada from the United States—to search the vehicle. During the inspection, a detector dog alerted officers to a small bottle labeled Vitamin D3. Upon closer examination, authorities discovered 250 handmade opium pills weighing a total of 67 grams inside the container.
 

Following the discovery, CBSA officials handed Kahlon over to the Saskatchewan Police, who registered a formal case against him and presented the driver in court.
 

During court proceedings on Wednesday, Kahlon pleaded guilty to the charges before the presiding judge. Appealing for leniency, Kahlon stated that he is not a drug smuggler, but rather suffers from addiction and had kept the opium solely for personal consumption.
 

However, the public prosecutor informed the court that Kahlon had previously been found in possession of 13 grams of opium. At that time, no formal case was registered because the quantity fell within a legal exemption limit of 15 grams.
 

Taking into account the gravity and repetition of the offense, the judge sentenced Kahlon to a six-month imprisonment term. Under conditional release terms, Kahlon was granted permission to serve his six-month sentence under house arrest rather than in prison. In addition to serving house arrest, he must complete 25 hours of community service and obtain a police clearance certificate before gaining full freedom—conditions that the defendant accepted.