Vancouver (Rajeev Sharma): Vancouver police have made the largest cocaine seizure in the city’s history, recovering 328.55 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of $5.8 million from a shipping container packed with boxes of T-shirts. The drugs were discovered on July 21 after employees at a Vancouver-based company found 14 duffle bags concealed among the legitimate commercial shipment and immediately contacted police. Investigators said the company was not involved in the drug shipment.
Vancouver Police Department Drug Unit Sgt. Travis Fraser said the quantity of cocaine, along with stamps and packaging found with the drugs, indicates police believe organized crime was behind the shipment. Fraser said the business was shocked by the discovery and had no connection to the cocaine.
Police said the container originated in Honduras on May 18, stopped in Jamaica on June 6, arrived in Montreal on July 5, and eventually travelled to Vancouver. Investigators believe the cocaine was intended to be removed from the container before it reached the Vancouver company, but that did not happen.
The international investigation is continuing, with Canadian and international law-enforcement agencies involved, including the RCMP and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as investigators work to determine who arranged the shipment, where the cocaine originated and who was supposed to receive it. No arrests or suspects have been publicly announced in connection with the seizure.
Police say the record haul underscores the continuing challenge of detecting illicit drugs concealed within legitimate international commercial shipments. The 328.55-kilogram seizure is the largest cocaine seizure ever reported by the Vancouver Police Department, making it a major development in the city’s ongoing efforts to disrupt organized drug trafficking.
