CALGARY – Police have charged three men in connection to a multi-million dollar cross-border drug-trafficking operation.
The 15-month investigation dates back to October 2012, when an Alberta man was arrested on a traffic stop by Nevada Highway Patrol with 45 kilograms of cocaine.
The cocaine, worth more than $4.5 million and packaged in 63 vacuum-sealed bundles, was concealed in a hidden compartment underneath the bed of a pickup truck.
Investigators were able to determine that the cocaine was destined for Calgary.
Christopher Mark Scher, 33, Michael Mirr Janecek, 37, and Steven Manuel Doporto, 31, were arrested on January 15, 2014.
They have been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to traffic cocaine, possession, trafficking, and possession of proceeds of crime.
Officials say all three men have no prior history with police and are not believed to be affiliated with any major organized crime groups.
It’s alleged the three accused were major cocaine distributors in Southern Alberta and routinely used couriers to import cocaine from the southern United States.
The investigation was a joint effort between Alberta law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
GALLERY: More than $4.5 million in cocaine packaged in 63 vacuum-sealed bundles and concealed in a hidden compartment underneath the bed of a pickup truck.
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