The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) say a drug bust in Calgary has stopped an attempt to import chemicals that could have produced approximately $5-million worth of MDMA or ecstasy.
CBSA said it intercepted two packages of a known MDMA precursor on its way to a Calgary address on Jan. 21. The packages were being imported from China and weighed more than 53 kilograms.
On Feb. 4, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) executed a search warrant at the address of the intended recipient located in the Whitehorn neighbourhood in northeast Calgary. Officers seized an additional 68 kilograms of MDMA precursors, along with falsified importation documents.
A total of 121 kilograms of MDMA chemicals were seized, according to an ALERT news release.
“The only known application for these chemicals is to produce MDMA and ecstasy. This seizure prevented tens of thousands of doses, worth millions of dollars, from flooding the province,” said Insp. Shawn Wallace in an emailed press release on Friday.
Yoseph Tamerat Metyeke, 33, was charged with importation of a controlled substance and production of a controlled substance. Additional charges are pending further analysis of the drugs seized.