Border guards intercept 17kg of cocaine bound for Alberta

By Jason van Rassel, Calgary Herald
September 11, 2009

American authorities have intercepted more than 17 kilograms of cocaine bound for Alberta at a Montana border crossing.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the drugs were in 14 plastic-wrapped bricks found last Friday, hidden in the ceiling of a 10-metre travel trailer that tried crossing into Canada at the Coutts port of entry, 100 kilometres southeast of Lethbridge.

The Canada Border Services Agency denied entry to the trailer, which was being towed by a company based in California.

When the truck and trailer tried re-entering the U.S. through the Sweetgrass port, border officers performed a gamma-imaging scan of the vehicles and found an anomaly in the ceiling of the trailer.

Officers opened up the ceiling and found the drug, which American officials estimated were worth US $650,000.

U.S. authorities seized the truck and trailer. There was no immediate information about any charges or arrests, but the case remains under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

jvanrassel@theherald.canwest.com

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