Canadian officers reportedly seize $58,000 of opium poppy at Blaine truck crossing
A semi truck allegedly smuggling seven boxes of suspected dried opium poppy plants worth an estimated $58,000 was stopped at the truck border crossing in Blaine attempting to enter Canada earlier this month.
The Canada Border Services Agency and Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the suspected drug seizure, which occurred Aug. 12, in a press release Friday, Aug. 28.
“Opium poppy is the source of all natural opioids, including doda, a highly-addictive street drug made from dried pods and husks,” Canada Border Services Agency Director of Pacific Highway District Daniela Evans said in the release. “The CBSA conducts risk-based screening at the border and works with the RCMP to protect Canadians from all forms of drug smuggling.”
Canada Border Services Agency officers at the Pacific Highway border crossing on Aug. 12 referred a commercial driver for further inspection, according to the release, and after X-raying the semi, they found some anomalies.
The officers continued to investigate and found the seven boxes of suspected dried opium poppy plants, including the pods, that weighed approximately 29 kilograms, the release stated.
The driver was arrested and the plants were seized and turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, the release stated. Only licensed dealers under the Narcotic Control Regulations are allowed to import or export opium poppy into Canada with a valid permit.
The Bellingham Herald has asked the Canada Border Services Agency if the driver was American or Canadian.
“Investigations such as this, highlight the important relationship between the Canada Border Services Agency and RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime in detecting and interdicting drugs in the first instance and bringing those allegedly responsible through the court process,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Serious and Organized Crime Inspector Stephen Lee. “Such partnerships are critical in supporting our ongoing commitment to combating transnational organized crime.”
