144 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE SEIZED AT SUMAS CROSSING

The Canada Border Services Agency said Friday it had seized 144
kilograms of cocaine, likely bound for Metro Vancouver streets.

Border guards at the Sumas crossing seized the drugs from an
apparently empty commercial semi-trailer truck last Saturday.

It is one of the biggest land-border seizures of cocaine ever made in
Western Canada, the agency said.

The guards became suspicious of the truck after anomalies were
detected with its refrigeration unit. When they removed the unit's
cover, 144 bricks of cocaine were found wrapped in cellophane.

According to RCMP the driver, a 26-year-old Surrey man, was arrested
on the scene but has since been released on a promise to appear in
court in September.

The RCMP has recommended charges of importation of cocaine and
possession for the purpose of trafficking to Crown.

One kilogram of cocaine can fetch as much as $50,000 on the street,
according to RCMP.