NEW YORK – A trucker was arrested by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) following a major drug bust of cocaine worth $10m concealed in the commercial load.
The truck driver, an unidentified male, was arrested at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, which is a U.S.-Canada crossing that links western NY with Ontario.
The huge amount of cocaine was found following an inspection of a tractor-trailer that was trying to enter Canada from the United States on Aug 18. The tractor-trailer was subjected to a secondary inspection when “anomalies in the packaging of the shipment” became apparent during the first inspection, stated the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in their official statement.
The officers seized approximately 117 kilos (278 pounds) of cocaine that were distributed in 104 packages. The CBSA estimates this amount of cocaine to be worth around CA$14 million, which is US$10,6 million.
This bust is among the largest since the closing of the U.S. – Canada border for nonessential travel in March. Earlier this summer, in June, a record bust of $20m in marijuana was seized at the CA – U.S. border.
This is one of two big busts announced this Thursday. The second one was in April when Canadian border officers seized over $3M in suspected cocaine from a tractor-trailer.
The $3m bust took place at the Blue Water Bridge when a male truck driver arrived at the crossing and was referred for a secondary examination. The officers found 19 kilograms of suspected cocaine.
