Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers recently made the largest seizure of cocaine at an airport in Prairie history. The incident occurred at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.
On February 9, 2024, during the examination of a flight originating outside of Canada, CBSA border officers identified two unclaimed suitcases. Upon examination of the suitcases, officers found 60 individually wrapped packages of suspected cocaine with a street value of over $9 million. The total weight of the cocaine was 74.8 kilograms.
“Every day through the vigilance, expertise, and commitment of CBSA officers, we are combatting the smuggling of illegal narcotics into Canada and disrupting international crime networks,” said Greg Valentine, Director, Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division, Prairie Region. “Thanks to the quick thinking of officers at the Winnipeg International Airport, more than 75 kg of cocaine is not going to make it to Canadian streets where it could have injured or destroyed countless lives.”
This seizure is the largest narcotics seizure at an airport in the Prairie Region and demonstrates the work being done by the CBSA to interrupt organized crime and to keep Canadian communities safe.
The narcotics were transferred to the Manitoba RCMP.
