Canadian Couple Arrested in Fentanyl Smuggling Plot

Buffalo, N.Y. — A Canadian couple has been nailed in a cross-border scheme to traffic deadly synthetic fentanyl analogues through the Niagara Falls mail system. Karl and Sorina Morrison, both 59, of Kitchener, Ontario, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to import and export controlled substances and attempt to export controlled substances and analogues, each facing up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

According to federal prosecutors, the operation began unraveling on August 29, 2016, when U.S. law enforcement intercepted a package shipped from China and addressed to Karl Morrison at a UPS store in Niagara Falls, NY. Inside were four sample-sized packets of powder. Two were tested and confirmed to contain 4-Methoxy Butyryl Fentanyl and Para-Fluoro Butyryl Fentanyl — synthetic drugs that, if intended for human consumption, qualify as analogues of the Schedule II narcotic fentanyl.

The Morisons escalated the operation weeks later. On October 15, 2016, the couple crossed into the U.S. from Canada at the Lewiston Queenston Port of Entry. They retrieved multiple packages, purchased shipping supplies, and repackaged the contents for shipment back to Canada — including one sent to their home in Kitchener. Among the resealed envelopes was a two-pound package falsely declared as “cinnamon butter” by Sorina Morrison. Forensic analysis later revealed it contained a bulk quantity of suspect powder.

Agents say the couple tried to cover their tracks. They ditched the original Chinese shipping labels in garbage cans across Niagara County and used the name and address of an unsuspecting Niagara Falls resident — pulled from a phone book — as the fraudulent return address on outbound packages. The ruse failed. Law enforcement recovered every parcel.

Karl and Sorina Morrison were arrested as they drove back toward Canada over the Lewiston Bridge. They made their initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., and are now in custody. A detention hearing is scheduled for October 24, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.

The case was built by a joint task force including Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. As of now, the charges remain allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.