Vancouver workers expecting to find boxes of T-shirts inside a shipping container instead discovered 14 duffle bags containing 328.55 kg of cocaine worth an estimated C$5.8 million, according to police. The seizure is the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the Vancouver Police Department.The drugs were discovered by employees at a legitimate Vancouver-based company while they were sorting through a shipment of T-shirts. Police said the company had ordered the clothing and had no connection to the cocaine found inside the shipment.The employees discovered the drugs and immediately contacted police. Officers were called to the business on July 21, where they seized the cocaine concealed in 14 duffle bags.“Obviously, the business was shocked by what it found. They called police right away and are in no way associated with the seized cocaine,” Sgt. Travis Fraser said in a statement.Police said the quantity of cocaine, along with stamps and packaging found with the drugs, suggests that the shipment was connected to organised crime. “This amount of drugs, as well as the stamps and packaging, clearly indicates organised crime is behind the shipment,” Fraser said.Investigators are now tracing the journey of the shipping container, which travelled through multiple countries before reaching Canada.According to police, the container left Honduras on May 18. It was then loaded onto a vessel and stopped in Jamaica on June 6. The shipment later arrived in Montreal on July 5 before eventually making its way to Vancouver.Police believe the cocaine was not supposed to reach the Vancouver company. Instead, investigators suspect the drugs were meant to be removed from the container somewhere along its journey before the shipment reached its final destination.“We believe the cocaine was supposed to be removed prior to its arrival at the company,” Fraser said. “For some reason, it was not unloaded.”The discovery has now triggered an international investigation involving authorities in several countries. Vancouver police said they are working with law enforcement agencies in Canada, Honduras, Jamaica and the United States as they try to determine who arranged the shipment and who was supposed to receive the cocaine. The investigation is also examining how the drugs were concealed among the legitimate T-shirt order and how they remained inside the container until it reached the Vancouver business.No arrests had been made at the time of the police announcement. Authorities have asked anyone with information about the shipment, the cocaine or the people involved to contact police.The seizure stands out not only because of the quantity of cocaine involved but also because of how it was discovered. Rather than being intercepted during a targeted operation, the drugs were found by employees who were simply unpacking a commercial shipment.For the Vancouver company, what appeared to be an ordinary T-shirt delivery unexpectedly became the centre of a major international drug investigation. Police are continuing to follow the shipment’s route from Honduras through Jamaica and Canada as they work to identify those responsible.
