OTTAWA: Montreal Royal Canadian Military Police spokesperson said that a major traditional organized crime cell was dismantled by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU). The highly technical and sophisticated smuggling process consisted of concealing the cocaine using ‘molecular docking’ in bags of asphalt. When the shipments arrived in Canada, a chemist would then extract the drug out of the asphalt.
“RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Luc Thibault said they have never seen such a sophisticated method to smuggle in drugs. Thibault added that the Canadian Border Services Agency was instrumental in uncovering the scheme when they made a seizure in September 2011 at the Trudeau airport.
Border officers were suspicious of an unusually large commercial shipment of asphalt. They seized the bags totaling 700 kg and took a closer look at the cargo. The bags contained a grainy black and white asphalt mixture, which they later discovered included cocaine. The border officers used a special chemistry tool used to detect narcotics and explosives.
