WINNIPEG, MB, Feb. 27, 2024 The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is committed to safeguarding our country by keeping illegal and dangerous drugs from reaching our communities.
On February 9, 2024, during the examination of a flight originating outside of Canada, CBSA border officers identified two unclaimed suitcases. Upon examination of the suitcases, officers found 60 individually wrapped packages of suspected cocaine with a street value of over $9 million. The total weight of the cocaine was 74.8 kilograms.
This seizure is the largest narcotics seizure at an airport in the Prairie Region and demonstrates the work being done by the CBSA to interrupt organized crime and to keep Canadian communities safe.
The narcotics were transferred to the Manitoba RCMP and there is no additional information to share at this time.
"Every day through the vigilance, expertise, and commitment of CBSA officers, we are combatting the smuggling of illegal narcotics into Canada and disrupting international crime networks. Thanks to the quick thinking of officers at the Winnipeg International Airport, more than 75 kg of cocaine is not going to make it to Canadian streets where it could have injured or destroyed countless lives."
- Greg Valentine, Director, Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division, Prairie Region
- Smuggling narcotics and other Customs Act contraventions may lead to prosecution in a court of law. For foreign nationals this may mean removal from Canada, and a ban on returning to Canada.
- For the latest narcotics and enforcement statistics, visit Canada Border Services Agency seizures.
- Anyone with information about suspicious cross-border activity is encouraged to call the CBSA Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060 or submit a tip online.
Twitter: @CanBorderPRA
SOURCE Canada Border Services Agency
Media Relations, Canada Border Services Agency, [email protected], 1-877-761-5945
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