Smuggling & Contraband

A trial arising from the largest “international drug takedown” in Toronto’s history has fallen apart after all charges were stayed. “No reasons for the stay were provided,” the Public Prosecution Service of Canada confirmed March 7, but a defence lawyer said that “a combination of witness issues, disclosure issues and delays in the progress of the proceedings.” Project Brisa’s six-month investigation led to the seizure of more than a tonne of smuggled drugs and a total of 182 charges against 20 persons [node:read-more:link]

Two police operations in eastern Ontario across the St. Lawrence River from New York state have resulted in the arrests of six persons on firearms charges. In one case, the investigation leading to four arrests involved provincial, local and indigenous police services as well as the Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says a recent drug bust resulted in the seizure not only of methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin but also 4,500 kilograms of Fentanyl and 50.6 million pills made to resemble different prescription pain-killers. The DEA said December 20 that the highly-addictive substance made by Mexican cartels from Chinese raw materials could have been used to manufacture 379 million fatal doses. [node:read-more:link]

The Canada Border Services Agency reported today that its officers have seized nearly 2.5 tonnes of opium in Vancouver with the help of the RCMP. The opium was found in 247 shipping pallets. [node:read-more:link]

A British Columbia man and two from the U.S. face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years after beachcombers in Washington state found duffel banks containing methamphetamines and Fentanyl worth some $7 million. Their grand jury indictment in Seattle was delivered after an extensive investigation by the RCMP and U.S. agencies. [node:read-more:link]

Six persons face a combined 260 criminal charges after a months-long firearms trafficking investigation in Toronto which resulted in the seizure of 62 long guns and handguns, all but five having been brought in from the U.S. “Our youth are dying over this issue,” Interim Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said December 5. “Shootings devastate families and erode the sense of security for entire communities.” [node:read-more:link]

Five crewmembers from Toronto-based Pivot Airlines arrived home December 1 after being detained in the Dominican Republic last April. The two pilots, two flight attendants and a maintenance engineer were taken into custody after they reported to local police that they had found more than 200kg of cocaine in their aircraft’s electronics bay. [node:read-more:link]

A British Columbia businessman who has visited the U.S. on business trips dozens of times a year without a problem, has been banned for life. Jonathan Houweling says that when he was chosen for a random search earlier this month, U.S. officers found a bottle of cannabidiol oil he had left in his vehicle a couple of years ago and then forgotten about it. While cannabis is legal in neighbouring Washington state, its sale, possession and distribution are illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. [node:read-more:link]

The Dominican Republic’s envoy to Canada says her country, bound by law, had no choice but to detain a Canadian airline crew and passengers for seven months after they had reported cocaine hidden in their aircraft. Ambassador Michelle Cohen also denies that the five Pivot Airlines crewmembers and te\heir passengers had spent time in prison despite accounts to the contrary. [node:read-more:link]

Seven months after they were arbitrarily detained by the Dominican Republic for reporting an attempt to smuggle cocaine, 12 Canadians learned today that repatriation is on the horizon after the prosecutor submitted the requisite paperwork. They include five employees of Toronto-based Pivot Airlines and seven passengers, who had chartered the aircraft to assess real estate investment potential in the Caribbean tourist destination. [node:read-more:link]

The Supreme Court of Canada (Docket No. 39346) has upheld the constitutionality of a federal statute which provides for prison rather than conditional sentencing in cases of crimes involving maximum sentences of at least 14 years in prison, or 10 years in drug-related cases. The 5-4 decision handed down November 3 was on an appeal by an indigenous woman who pled guilty to importing cocaine on behalf of her boyfriend. [node:read-more:link]

The Supreme Court of Canada (Docket No. 39346) has upheld the constitutionality of a federal statute which provides for prison rather than conditional sentencing in cases of crimes involving maximum sentences of at least 14 years in prison, or 10 years in drug-related cases. The 5-4 decision handed down November 3 was on an appeal by an indigenous woman who pled guilty to importing cocaine on behalf of her boyfriend. [node:read-more:link]

Fifteen people and a Calgary company have been charged following a cross-border $55-million drug bust. The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team, an umbrella agency, said September 27 that the investigation which began in 2020 also involved police in B.C., Saskatchewan and Ontario as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. [node:read-more:link]

A U.S. Navy veteran who worked for more than a decade as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan and who had been held hostage by the Taliban for two years was released by the Taliban September 19 in exchange for a drug trafficker associated with the Taliban who was jailed in 2008. There had been concerns that repatriation attempt would be undermined by the fundamentalists’ return to power last year and the subsequent withdrawal of the U.S. military. [node:read-more:link]

A multinational police operation has resulted in the arrest of five persons who used private jets to smuggle migrants into Europe. The suspects and two others still at large are accused of giving the migrants fake diplomatic papers from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean but flew them from Turkey to a European airport where declared their true identity and claimed asylum. Two jets worth €426,000 have been seized. [node:read-more:link]