Canadian Citizen Pleads Guilty To Shipping Cocaine To Canada; Sham Marriage Revealed During Court Proceedings

FRESNO, Calif. — Manjot Nanner , 32, a resident of Fresno and Canadian citizen, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Nanner helped set up a Fresno trucking company intending that cocaine would be concealed in legitimate cargo to be shipped to Canada. As part of the conspiracy, on September 21, 2012, another person was sent to Los Angeles and obtained eight kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement seized that cocaine and arrested Nanner and others. A follow-up search warrant on September 21, 2012, at the Los Angeles residence resulted in the seizure of an additional 40 kilograms of cocaine.

Nanner has been in custody without bail since his arrest on September 21, 2012. He was originally ordered to be released on bond. However, the Court reversed its order when the government established that the Nanner’s purported ties to Fresno included a sham marriage.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Fresno Police Department, with assistance from the Fontana and Vernon Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rooney is prosecuting the case.

Nanner is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Anthony W. Ishii on April 7, 2014. Nanner faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF Program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Plea Agreement