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Trucking company boss pleads guilty in cocaine smuggling case

The Associated Press Published Thursday, January 23, 2014 7:33AM EST Last Updated Thursday, January 23, 2014 2:48PM EST

Traffic backs up on the Peace Bridge as vehicles travel from Ontario into the U.S. Customs checkpoint in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The owner of a Canadian trucking company has pleaded guilty to smuggling thousands of pounds of cocaine across the border in western New York in his trucks.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo says 39-year-old Parminder Sidhu of Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in federal court Wednesday.

Investigators say that between 2009 and 2011, Sidhu's trucks -- equipped with false compartments -- were used to smuggle about 3,800 pounds of cocaine into Canada.

He faces at least 10 years in prison when he's sentenced in May.

Two co-defendants have been convicted of similar charges and will be sentenced in April.