PORT HURON, Mich. – Homeland Security investigators say a Canadian truck driver, using a seemingly simple handoff routine at a St. Clair County gas station, was caught moving large boxes of suspected dried opium poppy pods across the border.
He also allegedly told investigators that he “knew this day would come.”
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On June 3, federal prosecutors charged Vaibhav Saxena, 40, a native of India and citizen of Canada, with smuggling goods from the United States -- a 10-year felony.
In a federal complaint, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent working for the Port Huron Border Enforcement Security Team, which investigates crimes involving narcotics, smuggling, firearms and immigration enforcement, said Saxena is a citizen of Canada who lives in Brampton, Ontario.
‘Possible smuggling activity’
The HSI Agent said in January 2026, investigators learned about possible smuggling activity at a Mobil gas station on Wadhams Road in St. Clair, Michigan.
Investigators later determined that on several occasions -- from January 2026 through March 2026 -- a commercial vehicle with an Ontario plate met with a Michigan-plated passenger vehicle at the gas station.
Security video allegedly showed Saxena arriving at the gas station in the commercial vehicle and getting picked up by the Michigan-plated passenger vehicle. When Saxena returned, video allegedly showed him transferring multiple large boxes from the Michigan vehicle into his commercial vehicle.
After each transaction, law enforcement records showed the commercial vehicle left the United States at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry. The entire routine then repeated in April, investigators said.
Tracking Saxena to Walgreens, back to the Blue Water Bridge
On April 18, 2026, Saxena allegedly crossed into the U.S. using the Ambassador Bridge while driving the same commercial vehicle. Five days later, license plate readers showed the vehicle was traveling toward St. Clair County, the feds said.
That afternoon, on April 23, Saxena allegedly parked at the Mobil gas station. Then, the feds said, a red Ford Escape with a Michigan plate soon arrived, and Saxena got into the passenger seat.
Agents said they followed the Escape to a Walgreens parking lot on 10th Street in Port Huron. There, the feds said, Saxena went into the store twice and came out each time with a large box, loading both into the Escape’s trunk. That Walgreens has a FedEx pick-up location inside, court records showed.
After leaving Walgreens, agents said they followed the Escape back to the Mobil gas station, where Saxena returned to his vehicle. The feds said the Escape left immediately, but a few minutes later, Saxena left the parking lot and headed east on I-94.
Agents said they followed him to the Blue Water Bridge port of entry.
Saxena caught with ‘poppy pods’
During an outbound inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers allegedly asked Saxena about what he was transporting. The feds said Saxena denied transporting anything, that he did not have drugs in his vehicle, and that he did not make any stops on his way to the bridge.
But officers said when they inspected the cab, they found two large cardboard boxes with suspected dried opium poppy pods inside.
Drug-sniffing dogs also allegedly alerted officers to the odor of narcotics in the cab, and the dried opium poppy pods field-tested positive for morphine. Agents said that when using a field test kit, the total weight was 20.21 kilograms.
Morphine is a Schedule II controlled substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and a Schedule I controlled substance under the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Saxena allegedly “knew this day would come.”
After his arrest, investigators said Saxena admitted to picking up two cardboard boxes containing “tea leaves” from the Walgreens in Port Huron. Saxena allegedly said he put the boxes in his commercial vehicle and tried to avoid paying duty on its contents.
Saxena also allegedly told agents he had been doing the same routine for the last seven to eight months and had completed numerous similar events without being detected. Saxena also allegedly said several times during the interview with federal investigators that he “knew this day would come.”
Shipment records reviewed by investigators showed that since July 2025, Saxena received 34 other similar packages from Spain to an address in Port Huron, the feds said.
Court records show Saxena has been detained pending trial. Saxena is scheduled to be arraigned on the latest information -- smuggling goods from the United States -- on June 9, 2026, in federal court in Detroit at 1:00 p.m. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the same day.