Cocaine seizure at Port of Saint John worth $198 million, police say

RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency say they seized $198 million worth of cocaine in January from a marine container shipped to the Port of Saint John.

As a result of an investigation that began last fall, authorities found 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in the container. This was the largest amount seized from a shipping container in the Atlantic region in 30 years.

Six people were arrested, though five were released with no charges pending. A 34-year-old Brantford, Ont., man was charged with importing a controlled substance into Canada and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. 

Last fall, a Canada Border Services Agency intelligence team received information about shipments coming from Central America, RCMP said in a news release. 

In December, the agency started tracking a shipping container that contained goods imported by a Greater Toronto Area resident.

The container was exported from Central America, with a final destination of Saint John. The country of origin was not identified in the news release.

Border Services officers performed a "complex and lengthy" examination of the container on Jan. 7, which led to the discovery of the cocaine inside it, RCMP said.

"The success of this operation can be attributed to the outstanding collaboration of multiple CBSA units, including teams in GTA region, Atlantic region and International Operations Division, as well as the RCMP in both Ontario and New Brunswick," the release said.