HUGE DRUG BUST

KENOGAMI - Officers from the Kirkland Lake Ontario Provincial Police
detachment have seized 35 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of
between $4 million and $8 million during a vehicle stop for a traffic
violation on Highway 11.

The seizure was made at about 4:15 p.m. on Sunday in
Kenogami.

Due to the ongoing investigation police are not releasing any further
details about the vehicle stopped for a traffic violation.

OPP Community Services Officer Const. Emile Lamothe said this is the
largest drug seizure in the Kirkland Lake area and one of the biggest
in Northeastern Ontario.

He said: "It was excellent police work that led to the seizure of the
cocaine, that's what it came down to was good old fashioned police
work."

The drugs where being transported in two boxes found in the
vehicle.

The OPP did not indicate where the drugs originated, or where they
were to be delivered.

After the vehicle was stop, it was towed into Kirkland Lake with a
police escort in front and behind the tow truck.

Because of the value of the drugs that were seized, they have been
shipped to a secure facility in southern Ontario.

Const. Lamothe explained the reason the drugs were given a street
value of between $4 million and $8 million is because the value would
depend on how people handled the drugs and how many times the cocaine
was cut before it was sold on the street.

Also seized were Canadian and American money and other drug
paraphernalia.