The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says two “substantial” seizures of opium were recently made at the Port of Halifax.
The first seizure netted more than 65 kilograms of the narcotics in November 2021.
According to the CBSA, border services officers found the opium during a search of shipping containers.
“Using a wide range of detection tools and technology, the search revealed 84 packages of opium concealed within a single shipping container that arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” the federal agency noted in a news release.
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Seven weeks later on Jan. 7, officers detected an additional 31 kilograms of opium in 14 packages inside another shipping container that also arrived from the UAE.
The agency revealed the seizures were based on information and risk indicators that were gathered by its national targeting centre before the containers even arrived in Canada.
“Laboratory testing has confirmed the substances to be opium. On the illicit drug market, opium is often chemically processed into highly addictive heroin and other harmful synthetic opioids,” the release read.
The narcotics were transferred to the RCMP fur further investigation.
The CBSA added that that in 2021, more than 1,206 kg of opium was seized across the country.
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