Officials with the Canada Border Services Agency and RCMP say that nearly 100 kilograms of cocaine was intercepted at the Coutts Port of Entry in Southern Alberta last week.
On December 2, agents stopped a commercial truck at the border that was heading to a business in Alberta. The vehicle was from California and was reportedly hauling produce.
A subsequent search of the cab of the vehicle discovered 84 bricks of a substance suspected to be cocaine.
"While searching the cab of the vehicle, officers opened a microwave and discovered eight bricks of suspected narcotics. A drawer beneath the microwave and an area behind the microwave revealed another 14 bricks of suspected narcotics. Continuing their investigation, officers discovered another 18 bricks wedged between the end of the bed and the wall of the truck. When they lifted the top bunk mattress, they found another 44 bricks," said CBSA director Guy Rook.
The total weight of the drugs is approximately 99.5 kilograms, the largest seizure of suspected cocaine by CBSA officers in Alberta's history.
The driver and passenger of the truck were arrested and turned over to RCMP.
A man and a woman, Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, both of California, are charged with four counts each under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
They are expected to appear in Lethbridge Provincial Court on December 8.
Inspector Allan Lai with the RCMP K Division says this seizure is a very significant one, especially because of the amount of drugs that was discovered.
"Street value, for this amount of cocaine, if sold at the gram level, could be sold anywhere from $6.7 to 8.5M or more, depending on how it's mixed, cut and sold."
Lai says there is a lot more work for investigators in the days to come and more charges could be laid if more suspects are found.
"RCMP has worked very closely with CBSA upon receiving the packages. There is a lot more work involved as we take this investigation forward but I think that with the amount that we've gotten just this past weekend, it's certainly not something we see on a daily basis."
Rook says the work to detect drugs being transported across the border is very difficult and he commends the officers at the Coutts crossing for their continued diligence.
"At the Coutts border crossing, officers work 24/7, 365 days of the year, to screen people and good entering Canada. While processing thousands of visitors and welcoming thousands of Canadians home, officers must also intercept that one vehicle carrying extremely dangerous contraband. It is not unlike looking for a needle in a haystack."
Prior to this incident, the largest CBSA cocaine seizure in Alberta was 92.74 kilograms on October 10, 2016, also seized at Coutts.
