A man has been arrested and charged after Toronto police found several kilograms of cocaine and ketamine in packages brought to a courier company.

The drugs were hidden in packages laced with paprika, as an attempt to throw off drug-sniffing dogs, Toronto Police Insp. Howie Page told media at a news conference Friday morning.

He said the bags of drugs, marked with a Star of David imprint, were vacuum sealed and triple-wrapped then buried among bags of paprika.

Page said an employee of a courier company thought the packages destined for Edmonton seemed suspicious, so the employee alerted police.

As police were investigating, the man who tried to ship the first package returned to the courier and tried to ship another. Investigators discovered more than five kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of ketamine in the package, he said. The drugs have an approximate street value of $550,000.

The man was arrested immediately.

Police said they also recovered $175,000 in cash.

Anh Tung Ly, 28, from Woodbridge, Ont., was arrested during the investigation, and has been charged with possession of cocaine and ketamine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of obtaining the proceeds of crime.

"Toronto is the largest city in Canada and a major transit hub, but it also holds true that it relates to the travel of many controlled substances," Page said.

"We are currently investigating the possibility that this individual may be responsible for shipments previous to those that were intercepted."

Police are working with other jurisdictions as part of an ongoing investigation. Anyone with more information is asked to contact officers at 416-808-6110 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 (TIPS).