Canada police report record opium seizure at Vancouver port

In this photograph taken on April 13, 2019, Afghan farmers harvest opium sap from a poppy field in the Gereshk district of Helmand province.  Afghanistan is the world’s top grower of opium, and the crop accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs. (AFP)

OTTAWA, Canada – Canadian police have announced a record seizure of nearly 2.5 metric tons of opium hidden in containers transiting through the western port of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which announced the seizure late Friday, did not say where the drug came from, nor did it say whether the find had led to any arrests.

CBSA intelligence agents along with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) organized crime unit had opened an investigation in September into a potentially significant smuggling operation involving marine containers, the border agency said.

It said an examination in late October of the contents of 19 containers revealed “irregularities in the shipping pallets as part of a deep concealment method.”

The seized drug had an estimated street value of $50 million, the police said.

The CBSA did not say why the seizure was only being announced at this time, but said the investigation was continuing.

Vancouver is the busiest port in Canada, and the principal port of entry for products coming from Asia.

For years, an influx of opioids into North America — much of it smuggled from Asia — has grown to the point of presenting a major public health challenge for Canada and the United States.

In the United States, the number of overdose deaths involving people aged 10 to 18 more than doubled from 2019 to 2021, according to a study published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

It warned of the particular risks of counterfeit pills containing sometimes lethal doses of fentanyl.

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