Adam Silverman

Free Press Staff Writer

A Canadian man in winter camouflage trudged across the U.S. border and into Vermont while pulling a sled laden with nearly 200 pounds of anti-anxiety medication, federal prosecutors allege.

The alprazolam — commonly known by the brand name Xanax — was worth about $1.6 million, court papers state.

Cedrick Bourgault-Morin, 21, of Quebec was arrested early Wednesday after tripping sensors along railroad tracks leading from the international border into North Troy, according to court papers made public Thursday at U.S. District Court in Burlington.

Bourgault-Morin appeared in court Thursday but was not required to enter a plea. A message left with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Burlington was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

The incident began at about 1 a.m. Wednesday when U.S. Border Patrol agents in Newport received an alert to activity on the railroad tracks, court papers state.

Border Patrol agents who responded "observed a single adult male, dressed in white camouflage clothing, walking along the railroad tracks and pulling a sled behind him. The sled contained one large duffel bag wrapped in white camouflage," according to a criminal complaint written by Agent John McGarghan.

Footprints and sled tracks led south from the border toward the Orleans County village. The suspect, who spoke no English, was arrested on suspicion of illegally entering the United States. He, the sled and the duffel bag were taken to the station, where with help from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police he was identified as Bourgault-Morin, McGarghan wrote.

The duffel contained 300 vacuum-sealed bags, weighing a total of 182 pounds, that contained the depressants, which are a federal controlled substance, according to court papers.

Documents on file offered no details about where the drugs might have been headed, but the papers indicated a wider cross-border conspiracy. U.S. Attorney for Vermont Eric Miller said he was unable to comment.

"The circumstances of his offense indicate he had the assistance of co-conspirators on the Canadian side of the border, and he was anticipating assistance of co-conspirators on the American side of the border," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ophardt wrote in a request to keep Bourgault-Morin in jail.

The motion stated that Bourgault-Morin has no connection to Vermont and likely would flee if turned loose. A detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Miller said.

Bourgault-Morin faces five years in prison and $250,000 in fines if convicted.

This story was first posted online on Jan. 14, 2016. Contact Adam Silverman at 802-660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wej12.