The CEO of a BC-based company that specializes in manufacturing, importing, and distributing agricultural machinery, including cannabis-related equipment, has sued the United States Department of Homeland Security, saying they detained, interrogated, and harassed him over the cannabis-related equipment his company sells.
As first reported by law360, Aaron McKellar, the CEO of Eteros Technologies, a custom engineering, design, and manufacturing firm based in Surrey, British Columbia, is suing the US agency after he was detained at the Blaine, Washington, port of entry. Eteros Technologies is the parent company of the Mobius and Triminator brands of cannabis-industry equipment.
In the court filing, McKellar says he believes US Customs and Border Protection officials’ actions were retaliatory and sought to “harass and penalize” McKellar for Eteros’ legal success in a previous case, which confirmed that Eteros’ cannabis-related equipment is entirely legal under US law.
Although McKellar says he provided information supporting his admissibility into the United States, including the court-approved legality of Eteros’ operations, he claims CBP Officers made several comments to him, such as “Your customers should buy from an American company,” and “buy from an American citizen.”
Court records say that CBP officers concluded that McKellar is “knowingly and intentionally contributing to the proliferation of the marijuana industry in the United States,” and issued an expedited removal order against McKellar that included a five-year entry ban and warnings that any attempt to re-enter the U.S. would lead to felony prosecution and imprisonment.
CBP officers then also revoked his NEXUS membership and confiscated his NEXUS membership card.
For their part, the defendants CBP and Port Director Harmit S. Gill are said to have refused to reconsider or vacate the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) issued against McKellar, denying the Reconsideration Request.
“CBP’s own actions in granting McKellar L-1A work authorization on multiple occasions, including after the CIT decision, affirm that CBP previously found no basis or “reason to believe” his conduct was unlawful,” reads the lawsuit.
“The absence of any facts or allegations against Eteros undermines Defendants’ assertion that a ‘reason to believe’ finding that Plaintiffs are aiding and abetting narcotics trafficking is now warranted.”
The lawsuit also argues that the CPB’s actions created fears of travel bans, expedited removal orders, and criminal prosecution for Canadian employees. McKellar alleges that these actions disrupt cross-border operations and harm Eteros USA’s competitiveness and collaboration with its Canadian counterpart, Eteros Canada.
Concerns about legal Canadian cannabis companies doing business in the US are not new. In 2018, the CEO of another Surrey, BC-based company that sells equipment to cannabis companies, Kierton Inc., was banned for life after CPB officers determined he was entering the country to do business with US cannabis companies. McKeller is the co-founder & former COO of Keirton Inc., although he left the company in 2016.
In 2018, the US government clarified that while Canadian citizens “working in or facilitating the proliferation of the legal cannabis industry in Canada” who come to the US “for reasons unrelated to the cannabis industry will generally be admissible to the US.” However, if a traveller is found to be coming to the US for reasons related to the cannabis industry, the US government says they may be deemed inadmissible.
