MAJOR DRUG BUST

Crime Authorities Uncover 276 Kg Of Cocaine In Boxes Of Hot Sauce
Shipped To Port Of Saint John

SAINT JOHN - Cocaine with a street value of an estimated $40 million
has been seized from a container ship that docked in the Port of Saint
John earlier this month.

The 276 kilograms of the drug were smuggled into Canada from the South
American country of Guyana on a container vessel that arrived in the
city on Dec. 8. The Canada Border Services Agency is describing the
bust as the largest drug seizure by the agency in New Brunswick.

An Ontario man, Mahendrapaul Doodnauth, 45, of Seguin Court,
Etobicoke, was arrested in Ontario on last Friday and has been charged
with importing cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession
of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs
and Substances Act. He appeared in court via video on Tuesday and was
remanded. No details were available on Tuesday's court appearance.

Officers are still investigating whether there is any local criminal
involvement and have not ruled out more arrests. They said they don't
know whether any of the drug was intended to be sold on Saint John
streets.

The ship, which authorities declined to name, has the capacity to crry
559 12-metre cargo containers and makes regular trips between Saint
John and the Caribbean.

In this case, the cocaine was packaged in 1,653 resealable plastic
bags and packed inside cardboard partitions that had been split open.
Cardboard partitions are commonly used in boxes of goods to keep glass
bottles from knocking together and shattering.

In this case, the cocaine-laden partitions were shielding bottles of
green hot sauce; 77-79 per cent pure cocaine was found in 551 of 1,250
boxes of the sauce.

On Tuesday morning, representatives from the Canadian Border Services
Agency (CBSA), Saint John Police Force and the RCMP held a press
conference displaying all but two kilograms of the high-quality
cocaine. The Durham Regional Police Service of Whitby, Ont., was also
involved in the operation.

"This certainly highlights the risk that is present in the Port of
Saint John for the importation of narcotics," said Don Collins, CBSA
director of the southern N.B./P.E.I. district.

The ship was searched on Dec. 11 as a result of information gathered
by undercover officers during the past three months as they worked to
try to identify the source of cocaine that is on the streets in and
around Toronto, said Jamie Bastarache, CBSA chief of enforcement and
intelligence for the Atlantic region.

"The investigation alerted police to a criminal network distributing
and selling on the streets," he said.

CBSA detector dogs alerted officers and X-ray technology narrowed down
the drug's location, Collins said. Police are "fairly confident" the
cocaine was loaded in Guyana.

This is the third drug seizure by the CBSA in the Atlantic region this
year. Since January, CBSA investigations in the Atlantic region have
yielded more than 622 kilograms of illegal drugs valued at more than
$72 million.

The CBSA searches about eight to 10 per cent of containers arriving at
Saint john's port daily as a result of information received, Collins
said.

"Our port is a small port and we are seen by Upper Canadians as being
somewhat of a sleepy community," said Insp. Darrell Scribner of the
Saint John police.

"It takes a big bite out of the cocaine available."

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said law-enforcement
collaborations like the one that made the bust are "tried and true".

"Together with sophisticated detection technology, law enforcement
officers have again stopped delivery of an alleged illegal drug
shipment," he said, adding that government's national anti-drug
strategy has included the investment of about $22 million over two
years to support law enforcement in combating the production and
distribution of illicit drugs.

Anonymous tips can be made to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at
1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward of
up to $2,000.