Prosecutions and Seizures

Atlantic Region

Largest drug seizure in New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick, December 23, 2008 -- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that CBSA officers have found and seized about 276 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick. The drugs have an estimated street value of CAN$40 million. This is the largest drug seizure by the CBSA in New Brunswick.

CBSA officers discovered the drugs on December 11, 2008, while searching a marine container that originated in Guyana. The shipment was selected for examination as a result of targeting by CBSA officers, intelligence gathering and information sharing among law enforcement agencies. With the assistance of x-ray technology and a detector dog, CBSA officers found 1,653 packages of suspected cocaine in 551 cardboard boxes in the 40-foot marine container.

The CBSA worked jointly with the Saint John City Police, the RCMP and the Durham Regional Police Service in this investigation over the past several months. Seizures like this demonstrate the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies working together in the fight against illegal drugs. Further investigation by the Durham Regional Police Service in Ontario has led to one arrest.

This is the third seizure of illegal drugs by the CBSA in the Atlantic Region this year. Since January 2008, CBSA marine examinations in the Atlantic Region have yielded over 622 kilograms of illegal drugs, valued at over CAN$57 million.

Photos of the seizure are available upon request.

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For media information:

Jennifer Morrison
CBSA Communications - Atlantic
(902) 426-2271
(902) 292-7799 (cell)

David Selby
Durham Regional Police Service
Director, Corporate Communications
Whitby, Ontario
1-888-579-1520 ext. 4277