Vancouver: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has seized 520 kilograms of pure opium from a shipping container at Tsawwassen port, uncovering the narcotics concealed inside industrial paper rolls.
According to CBSA officials, the container, loaded with 20 rolls of industrial paper, arrived at the port nearly four months ago and had remained under surveillance ever since. Authorities were reportedly waiting for someone to claim the shipment so that suspects could be apprehended during the delivery process. However, no one came forward to take possession of the container during that period.
Nina Patel, Regional Director General for the CBSA’s Pacific Region, said the suspicious shipment had been under the watch of a joint Canada-U.S. security team. During a recent inspection, officers conducted X-ray scans of all 20 paper rolls and discovered that nine of them had been specially modified to conceal narcotics.
The search led to the recovery of 520 kilograms of pure opium hidden inside the rolls. Authorities have not disclosed whether any arrests have been made in connection with the seizure.
The latest bust has also revived questions about previous investigations at the same port. In December 2022, authorities seized nearly 3,000 kilograms of opium from another container at Tsawwassen. In that case, investigators reportedly tracked the shipment to a warehouse in Delta before making the seizure public.
However, despite more than three years having passed since that operation, the identities of the principal suspects have not been publicly disclosed, prompting criticism and raising questions about the effectiveness and transparency of follow-up investigations.
The CBSA has said the current investigation remains ongoing and further details will be released as the probe progresses.
