A joint investigation between Canadian and American authorities has resulted in charges being laid against three Calgary men.
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) and the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began an investigation back in October 2012 when an Alberta man was arrested during a traffic stop by Nevada Highway Patrol.
Officers found 45 kg of cocaine, worth more than $4.5M, was packaged in 63 vacuum-sealed bundles and hidden in a compartment underneath the bed of a pickup truck.
A DEA investigation found the drugs were destined for Calgary and a further search identified three men as leaders in a sophisticated drug operation.
On January 15, Christopher Mark Scher, 33, Michael Mirr Janecek, 37, and Steven Manuel Doporto, 31, were arrested.
All three are charged with:
- Conspiracy to import cocaine
- Conspiracy to traffic cocaine
- Possession
- Trafficking
- Possession of the proceeds of crime
They all have no prior history with police and are not believed to be affiliated with any major crime groups.
