Border officials seized a shipment of juice bottles containing more than 1,000 litres of liquid methamphetamine destined for export to Australia at a Vancouver-area port.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 1,278 litres of liquid methamphetamine, representing approximately four million individual doses with an estimated street value of $2 million, at the Fraser Surrey Docks, the agency said in a Sept. 17
press release.
The drug was disguised in bottles labelled as grape and apple juice that were intercepted by CBSA agents on June 27 with the help of drug-sniffing dogs. Anomalies in the packaging of the bottles, destined for Australia, prompted officers to examine the shipment, leading to the discovery of 1,320 bottles filled with the drug.
“[The CBSA] is committed to protecting our communities from the harm caused by organized crime and preventing illicit drugs from crossing our borders,” reads the release.
The case was referred to RCMP in Ontario who worked with Australian authorities, leading to charges there against three people, according to the agency.
In a statement, Adrian Telfer, acting commander of the Australian Federal Police, thanked Canadian authorities for their help in preventing the drug shipment from reaching Australia. He said the operation “put a sizeable dent in the wallets of organised crime.”
Smuggling narcotics into Canada can result in fines of up to $500,000 or imprisonment of up to five years for serious offences, under the
Customs Act. Foreign nationals can be removed from Canada and banned from returning, the agency said.
In August, Australia officials announced a Canadian woman whose flight began in Vancouver had been charged with
importing 14.4 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in her luggage after arriving at Brisbane International Airport. The drugs had an estimated street value of $13.4 million Australian dollars (approximately C$12.3 million), officials said.
Less than a month ago, the CBSA announced it
seized an estimated $1.25 million worth of methamphetamines at Vancouver International Airport hidden in passenger bags bound for Sydney, Australia. The drugs, with a combined weight of 24.84 kilograms, were discovered in two separate incidents on July 27 and July 29, according to an Aug. 28
press release.
On both occasions, the travellers were taken into custody by the RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime unit (FSOC).
