Investigators from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police recently discovered 387 kilograms of opium worth 8.5 million hidden in marble tiles in the port of Montreal.
Posted at 4:31 p.m.
Federal police, who announced the seizure of their X-Feed earlier this week, did not provide information about when the drugs were seized.
In addition to the 387 kilograms of opium, police also discovered 85 kilograms of hashish, worth $850,000, hidden in the same manner in the same goods.
According to our information, a kilogram of opium costs about $22,000 and a kilogram of hashish costs about $10,000; The total value of the two drugs found in the marble slabs would therefore be almost 9.5 million.
According to our information, the drug that would have been destined for the Ontario market came from Pakistan and the goods would have passed through several international ports before arriving in Montreal.
The trick used by the exporters was sophisticated; They added one kilogram of opium per marble tile. This was relatively thick and was then closed.
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Kilograms of opium and hashish found in the marble tiles.
According to our information, six individuals were arrested and interviewed by investigators from RCMP Detachment C, but were released pending further investigation, which is being conducted in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Quebec Section.
While this opium seizure is significant, it is not the largest ever made in Canada: on October 25, 2022, customs officers in Vancouver, British Columbia discovered 2,500 kilograms of opium in 19 shipping containers.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, extension 4918, write to [email protected] or write to La Presse’s mailing address.