By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Largest seizure of suspected cocaine in Alberta made at Coutts

Dec 8, 2017 | 9:46 AM

CALGARY –  The Director for Canada Border Services (CBSA) says locating contraband in the thousands of vehicles that cross the border at Coutts everyday is like looking for a needle in a haystack.  But, on Saturday, December 2, CBSA officers found the needle.

At a news conference in Calgary, Guy Rook detailed that at 12:50 in the morning, officers searched a semi truck and trailer, that was hauling a load of produce from California to a business in the province.  What they found, turned out to be a record seizure of drugs coming into Alberta.

“Officers opened a microwave and found eight bricks of suspected narcotics, a drawer beneath the microwave and the area behind the microwave revealed another 14 bricks – officers then recovered 18 bricks, wedged between the end of the bed and the wall of the truck.”

It didn’t end there.

“When they lifted the top bunk mattress, they found another 44 bricks – 84 in total.”

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Rook went on to explain that the content of the packages is believed to be cocaine (official testing is required for confirmation) with a total weight of 99.5 kilograms – the largest CBSA seizure of suspected cocaine on record in Alberta.

The driver and a passenger, were arrested and turned over to the RCMP. On December 4, the RCMP charged 31 year old Gurminder Singh Toor, and 26 year old Kirandeep Kaur Toor, both of California, on four counts each under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.  The husband and wife were remanded for appearance in Lethbridge court.

RCMP Operations Officer for the Federal Policing program in Southern Alberta, Inspector Allan Lai, says the success of the investigation in this case, is proof that collaboration and intelligence sharing between law enforcement partners, goes a long way to reduce criminal activity. Lai also outlined the value of the seized contraband.

“A very conservative estimate of the street value for this amount of cocaine, if sold at the gram level could be worth anywhere from $6.7 Million to $8.4 Million, or more, depending on how it’s mixed, cut and sold.”

Cocaine is the second-most prevalent street drug in Canada. Prior to the December 2 seizure the largest CBSA cocaine seizure in Alberta was 92.74 kg, also intercepted at Coutts, on October 10, 2016.

(Editor’s note: Story has been updated with additional information).