A second major drug bust in recent weeks has uncovered large shipments of cocaine hidden inside shipments of hollowed-out fruit, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on Tuesday.
The RCMP's drug enforcement agency and the Canadian Border Services Agency announced the seizure of a shipment of tropical fruit, sent to the Toronto area last week from Guyana through Pearson International Airport.
The shipment contained 17 boxes of hollowed-out star apples, mixed with pineapples and mangoes, which contained a total of 20 kilograms of cocaine.
The shipment was sent by air freight from Guyana to a falsified business in the Toronto area. Four people in the Toronto area have been arrested for cocaine-related offences.
It is the second time in recent weeks that a shipment of fruit from Guyana was found containing the illicit drug.
On Jan. 27, RCMP in New Brunswick arrested six people after 28 kilograms of cocaine was found hidden inside hollowed-out pineapples. The shipment, which had a street value of more than $3 million, was destined for Scarborough and Brampton, Ont.
"We have successfully interdicted several cocaine shipments in recent months," stated Supt. Rick Penney on Tuesday. "As we identify and stop methods employed by organized crime groups they will, no doubt, come up with new ways to bring illicit drugs into Canada."
