More than half a tonne of opium was seized from a marine container at Canada Border Services Agency’s Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility.
CBSA announced the seizure in a press release issued Tuesday (June 23), though the contraband was found over five months prior.
According to the release, the container was referred for examination by border services officers on Jan. 14 based on information provided by the CBSA’s National Targeting Centre, Pacific Regional Intelligence Section, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Upon arrival at the Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility, CBSA deployed its detector dog team, which “provided positive indication for contraband,” the release states. This prompted officers to conduct an x-ray examination of the container.
The container held 20 industrial-sized rolls of paper, and imaging revealed internal inconsistencies in nine of them. A subsequent progressive examination confirmed that opium had been concealed deep within 10 paper rolls.
In total, border services officers seized 520.6 kilograms of opium.
“Every kilogram of opium we intercept at the border is a kilogram that will not devastate a family or community. This seizure is a testament to the skill, dedication,and vigilance of the CBSA officers who protect us every single day,” Nina Patel, CBSA’s director general for the Pacific Region, said in Tuesday’s press release.
The release also said the seizure highlights the strength of continued collaboration between Canadian and U.S. agencies in combating drugs and organized crime.
“This seizure of more than half a tonne of opium is the result of strong collaboration and ongoing intelligence sharing between CBSA and U.S. partners,” federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in the release. “The CBSA is preventing opioid harm in our communities and is disrupting organized crime networks. I want to commend everyone involved in this significant operation.”
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