Authorities Capture $2M Cocaine Shipment En Route to Canada at Alberta Border

Alberta border authorities confiscated $2 million worth of cocaine at the province's Coutts crossing last month. CBSA handout photo

A joint initiative by Alberta authorities has resulted in the confiscation of $2 million worth of cocaine at the province’s southern border crossing.

The Integrated Border Enforcement Team in Alberta intercepted 189 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a commercial truck attempting to cross at the Coutts port of entry on Nov. 13, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in a press release.

The team is a joint force operation between the CBSA, the RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region, and Calgary Police Service.

The cocaine was discovered following a secondary examination of the vehicle, the Dec. 30 release said.

Calgary Police Service Criminal Operations and Intelligence Division Supt. Jeff Bell called the cocaine confiscation “significant” in the release, adding that it could have caused “serious damage” to the community had it not been discovered.

CBSA Southern Alberta and Southern Saskatchewan District Director Ben Tame also noted the scale of the seizure.

“I want to commend our CBSA officers who prevent illegal narcotics from breaching our borders and disrupt crime networks,” he said. “In cooperation with our law enforcement partners, the RCMP and the Calgary Police Service, this significant seizure serves as another example of how Canada’s borders are being secured and drugs are kept off our streets.”

The investigation is ongoing and charges could be laid in the future, police said.

The confiscation comes at a time when incoming U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa doesn’t beef up border security to prevent the flow of illegal migrants and drugs into the United States.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced $29 million in funding earlier this month for the creation of an Interdiction Patrol Team to tackle drug smuggling, gun trafficking, and illegal migration across its border with Montana.

The unit is set to become operational in early 2025 in a bid to address Trump’s concerns with border security.

It will include more than 50 uniformed officers, 10 support staff, four drug-sniffing dogs, 10 cold-weather surveillance drones, and four narcotics analyzers to detect illegal substances, Smith told reporters at a Dec. 12 press conference.

“We cannot take concerns about border security lightly,” Smith said. “By establishing this new team of sheriffs at our southern border, we are actively working to address security concerns and stop the criminals whose activities are destroying lives on both sides of the border.”

2024 Border Confiscations

The most recent confiscation is one of more than 24,000 drug seizures made by the CBSA this year.

Border officers seized more than 25,600 kilograms of illegal drugs between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, according to the agency’s year in review statistics.

The 24,426 illegal drugs seizures included 3,955 kilograms of cocaine, 4.9 kilograms of fentanyl, 237 kilograms of other opioids such as methadone and morphine, 37 kilograms of heroin, and 21,457 kilograms of other drugs, narcotics, and precursor chemicals.

Officers also seized 15,000 kilograms of cannabis and 547,000 kilograms of undeclared tobacco.

Drugs weren’t the only seizures made this year. Officers confiscated 853 firearms and 6,186 miscellaneous items such as firearms parts, large capacity magazines, and silencers.

More than half of the seized firearms—505—were handguns, 93 were semi-automatic pistols, 91 were revolvers, 54 were rifles, 36 were short-barrelled rifles, 34 were shotguns, 16 were semi-automatic rifles, and 22 were other types of pistols and rifles.

Border authorities also confiscated 15,637 non-firearm weapons from brass knuckles and knives, to stun guns, tasers, and pepper spray, and made 58 child pornography seizures.