BORDER BUST ONE OF ALBERTA'S BIGGEST

Two local men are facing drug charges after border officers in Coutts
seized 69 kg of cocaine valued at $9 million - making it one of the
biggest drug busts in the province.

A man entering Canada last Friday was questioned by border officials
and based on his answers, officers decided to conduct a more detailed
examination. "In this case they did feel that something wasn't quite
right and referred the individual for a secondary examination," said
Gordon Luchia, spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency.

During a second exam, a detector dog named "Hershey" led officers to
seven garbage bags of drugs hidden in a false floor of a trailer being
towed. The drugs were divided into 69 smaller packages.

Luchia said border officers in southern Alberta are involved in about
12 significant seizures every year. "This is the fourth or fifth
largest (drug bust) in Alberta in the last half a dozen years or more."

On the weekend, RCMP searched a home in Edmonton and a home in
Sherwood Park, which led to the arrest of a second man.