Nearly 190 kilograms of cocaine worth around $2 million was seized in early November at the Coutts port of entry, according to Canada’s border agency.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) say officers worked with Alberta’s Integrated Border Enforcement Team, the RCMP, and Calgary police after a commercial truck seeking entry was examined a second time.
RCMP Supt. Sean Boser says the support was beneficial in seizing the drugs.
No information about the suspect or arrests was provided.
Recently, a B.C. resident heading to the United Kingdom was arrested at the Calgary International Airport after the CBSA found 12 kilograms in his luggage.
The CBSA also seized shipments containing 397 kgs of crystal methamphetamine and 1,278 litres of liquid methamphetamine between March and August.
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Attention on CBSA efforts also comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened 25 per cent tariffs on all imports if Canada doesn’t address the perception that migrants and fentanyl are flooding into the United States from the north.
The Canadian federal government said in the fall economic outlook that it’s promising $1.3 billion in border security over six years amid these threats. Furthermore, the Alberta government is putting $29 million toward creating a new sheriff patrol unit to shore up security at the Canada-U.S. border.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says there will be more “boots on the ground,” and that the government will be supplying the RCMP and the CBSA with more drones and helicopters.
Aaron McCrorie, the vice president of intelligence and enforcement at the CBSA, said at a House of Commons committee studying the impact of Trump’s plans for border security and migration, that “Canada is not a significant source of fentanyl in the United States.”
With files from The Canadian Press