A layer of hot peppers covering almost 20 kilograms of cocaine didn’t fool air cargo officers when a flight from Trinidad landed in Toronto late last month.
The Canada Border Services Agency said air cargo officers watched as a cargo plane from Port of Spain, Trinidad was unloaded at Toronto Pearson International Airport on June 23.
Two boxes piqued the interest of officials. They opened the boxes and found “an abundance of hot peppers” on top, with 17 bricks of cocaine weighing 19.34 kilograms underneath.
The remaining cargo on the flight was transferred to a secure facility for an X-ray, while officers carried out a search of the entire aircraft.
The CBSA said the packages tested positive for cocaine and were turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Border officials in the Greater Toronto Area have seized more than 678 kilograms of cocaine this year, according to the CBSA.
Anyone with information about suspicious cross-border activity, is asked to contact the CBSA Border Watch Toll-free line at 1-888-502-9060.