The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has seized more than 200 kilograms of cocaine discovered aboard a ship that arrived in Vancouver from Panama earlier this fall. The agency revealed Wednesday that officers located 78 tightly packed bricks of cocaine, weighing a total of 204.5 kilograms, hidden inside containers filled with red liquid declared as paint pigment.
Drug-sniffing dogs were instrumental in uncovering the concealed shipment, CBSA officials said. The agency believes the operation was a sophisticated smuggling attempt designed to bypass screening and reach Canadian markets.
“This seizure demonstrates the critical role our border officers play in the fight against organized crime,” said Nina Patel, CBSA Pacific region director. She praised officers’ expertise and highlighted the agency’s close partnership with the RCMP as essential to stopping dangerous narcotics from entering communities.
The cocaine has since been turned over to the RCMP, and a criminal investigation is underway.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the discovery shows “the lengths criminals will go to try to sell illegal drugs in our country,” commending border teams for intercepting the shipment.
The Panama ship seizure occurred on the same day CBSA officers intercepted one of the region’s largest outbound drug shipments. At Vancouver International Airport, officers uncovered 560 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine hidden inside car parts bound for Australia. That haul included 319 kilograms of cocaine packed into 300 compressed bricks and 241 kilograms of methamphetamine sealed in 110 vacuum-packed bags.