HUGE COCAINE HAUL FOUND ON SAILBOAT

'One Of Largest Drug Busts In B.C. History . . . Hits Organized Crime
Hard'

Two men have been charged with drug smuggling after police seized a
metric tonne of cocaine off the northern tip of Vancouver Island in
what they call one of the largest drug busts in B.C.'s history.

Police suspect the drugs are linked to organized crime.

The 1,001 kilograms of white powder were packaged in one-kg bricks
about the size of a hard-cover novel and bound with packing or duct
tape. The bricks formed a metre-high wall four bricks deep with enough
left over to stuff five large sports bags.

"This is the jet fuel that drives the organized-crime engine," RCMP
Chief Supt. Bob Harriman told a news conference Monday to display the
haul.

"[The bust] has national and international impact on the illegal drug
trade," he said.

B.C. Solicitor-General Kash Heed estimated the cocaine, which amounts
to more than a million grams, would be worth hundreds of millions of
dollars on the street.

"It's one of the largest drug busts in B.C. history," he said. "This
hits organized crime hard."

Charged with one count each of possession for the purposes of
trafficking are Scott Pedersen, 39, of Victoria and Vicente Hernandez,
38, of Mexico. They appeared in provincial court in Victoria on Friday
and are in custody until their next scheduled court date on March 31.

Police also seized a 50-foot sailboat called Huntress, an inflatable
boat and motor, and electronic equipment during the arrests on March
6.

The sailboat was first spotted on the evening of March 5 on a routine,
scheduled flight by the new Marine Security Operations Centre, a
monitoring agency jointly operated by National Defence, RCMP,
Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Services
Agency and Transport Canada.

The sailboat gave its name as Huntress, which raised suspicions
because that name was registered as a fishing vessel, and an
inflatable motorboat was spotted nearby, said RCMP Supt. Brian
Cantera, in charge of federal drug enforcement.

Port Hardy RCMP were alerted, drug enforcement was called in and the
boat was boarded when it came ashore early on March 6. Police found 37
large sports bags stuffed with the cocaine bricks.

Police suspect there are other individuals linked to organized crime
involved and are continuing their investigation.