DELTA, B.C. — The Canada Border Services Agency says it has confiscated more than 6,300 kilograms of methamphetamine in British Columbia over the last six months, including the largest ever single seizure of the drug.
The drugs were found in four Metro Vancouver seizures in jugs labelled as canola oil and destined for export to Australia.
Five Australian citizens and one American were arrested in Australia over their alleged connection to the operation, which police there have described as a "global crime syndicate’s attempt" to traffic $1.5 billion worth of methamphetamine into the country.
The CBSA says that in December of last year, agents in Burnaby found 40 jugs containing just over 200 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and a month later 180 containers with 2,900 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine were seized coming through the container examination facility in Delta.
In a statement, the agency says the January discovery was enough to fill 35 large suitcases and is its largest methamphetamine seizure to date.
In May, two other major seizures happened at the container examination facility, where more than 3,000 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine was discovered.
A separate joint statement from Australian and Canadian law enforcement officials says the drugs bound for Australia were then substituted with harmless substances to give authorities time to track and identify alleged Australian offenders in the operation.
Police say two Australia men in their 30s have been charged with attempting to import methamphetamine connected to the January seizure.
The statement says one man is accused of acting "as a conduit for an organized crime network in Canada" and the other is alleged to have used his position "in a logistics business" to transport the substituted drug when it arrived in Australia.
Both men are facing a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Three other men, including an American citizen, have been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported drugs.
A sixth man — also from Australia — has been charged with possession and trafficking, and Australian police say more arrests are expected.
The statement says police executed search warrants at the suspects' homes and a storage unit allegedly used to store the drugs. Officers allegedly uncovered a clandestine lab in one of the homes, along with a quantity of other drugs.
The CBSA says the investigation on the Canadian side has been referred to the RCMP.
Canadian federal Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said in the CBSA statement that safety and security is the government's top priority.
"I want to thank the CBSA, the RCMP and our Australian and New Zealand law enforcement partners for their excellent work in disrupting organized crime and protecting our communities from dangerous narcotics," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023
The Canadian Press
