CALGARY – Calgary-based border agents have announced what they believe is the largest opium poppy bust in Canada’s history – two separate shipments with an estimated street value of almost $15 million.
Canada Border Services Agency officials seized more than 7,000 kilograms of opium poppy pods – the agency’s largest-ever such seizure, officials said this morning.
“It’s the biggest ever for CBSA and it’s possibly the biggest in all of Canada,” said agency communications officer Lisa White.
A news release says on Sept. 22nd, agency officers were inspecting a commercial container declared as “dried grasses” when they discovered more than 2,700 kilograms of poppy pods. The pods are worth an estimated $5.5 million.
That first bust was followed the next day by another suspicious shipment in a “unrelated commercial container,” according to officials. This time, the declaration form described the contents as “dried flowers.”
Upon inspection, agents found 4,500 kilos of dried poppy pods, appraised at more than $9 million.
When crushed into powder, the pods become a highly addictive drug, border officials say. Often the powder, commonly known as “doda,” is used to make tea.
“These seizures send a strong message to organized crime that the trafficking of drugs in our communities will not be tolerated,” federal Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said in a statement.
Agency officials are holding a press availability at noon today.
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