A commercial vehicle hauling produce from California to Alberta was found to have nearly 100 kgs of suspected cocaine in its cab.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), along with the RCMP stated in a press release that the border officers intercepted the commercial vehicle Dec. 2.

“While examining the cab of the vehicle, officers found 84 bricks of suspected cocaine with a total weight of 99.5 kilograms. This is the largest suspected cocaine seizure recorded by CBSA officers in Alberta to date,” states the release.

The two California travellers were handed over to the RCMP and have each been charged with four counts under the controlled drugs and substances act.

Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, are next in court Dec. 8 in Lethbridge Provincial Court.

For CBSA, this was an important seizure.

“Had this quantity of illicit narcotics made its way into our communities undetected, the impact could have been devastating,” said Kim R. Scoville, Regional Director General, Prairie Region, CBSA.

“The success of this investigation is proof that collaboration and intelligence sharing with our law enforcement partners goes a long way in reducing criminal activity in our communities and keeping Albertans and Canadians safe,” added Inspector K.C.A. (Allan) Lai, Operations Officer, RCMP Federal Policing South, Calgary.

More on the CBSA

• The CBSA is relentlessly focused on keeping illegal narcotics from entering Canada, and works closely with partners such as the RCMP.

• The CBSA and the RCMP work together to prevent illegal drug smuggling that endangers the safety of Canadian communities and generates profits for organized crime.

• Prior to this incident, the largest CBSA cocaine seizure in Alberta was 92.74 kg, also intercepted at Coutts, on October 10, 2016.

• Cocaine is the second-most prevalent street drug in Canada.

Border drugsCentral Alberta CrimeCocaine drug bustCoutts Border Crossing