$50M worth of methamphetamine seized at Manitoba border: CBSA
Posted January 31, 2024 2:13 pm.
Last Updated January 31, 2024 7:23 pm.
It’s being described as the largest seizure of narcotics in Prairie history, and one of the biggest in Canada at the land border.
Canadian Border Service Agency officers announced Wednesday the seizure 406 kilograms of methamphetamine – more than $50 million worth – from a commercial truck at the Manitoba border.
“This is an extraordinary seizure for the Canada Border Services Agency,” Insp. Joe Telus with the Manitoba RCMP said from Winnipeg.
The shipment – four million illicit doses of methamphetamine stuffed into 200 bags – was found in large suitcases inside a semi-trailer that was en route to Winnipeg, officials say.
The vehicle was searched at the Boissevain border crossing in southern Manitoba on Jan. 14.
CBSA officials say the 29-year-old driver, who was the lone occupant inside the truck, was arrested and charged with importation of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. The driver is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 1.
“Based on indicators, however, this truck was selected for further examination,” said Ken MacGregor, CBSA chief of operations. “It was during that examination that our officers found narcotics inside of several large suitcases.”
Insp. Telus says the truck, linked to a commercial trucking company in Manitoba, was coming from the United States and arrived at the border around 10 p.m. Police believe the shipment was linked to organized crime, and say the drugs were likely bound for locations throughout Manitoba, and possibly across Western Canada and Ontario.
“Large illicit drug shipments such as this one and the subsequent distribution of these drugs, is closely associated with increased violence in our communities, as street gangs and organized crime networks fight over territory in who gets to sell to the users,” Telus said. “This is why this seizure is so important. It will make a difference to many lives and communities throughout our country.”
Telus says the investigation is complicated because they are working backwards.
“Usually what we do is we work the investigation, and it leads to the seizure,” he explained. “This time around, we have the commodity, but we need to find out exactly where it came from and what they intended to do with it.”
MacGregor says the CBSA is seeing more drugs appear at the border.
“We are working to adapt, notice, pick up the patterns, and learn the trends that are going on and keep up to date so we can intercept.”
