A 56-year-old Hamilton man is facing charges relating to trafficking and exporting in illegal cannabis, police seized more than 296 kilograms of cannabis that was destined for the state of Illinois, USA.
Hamilton Police were called to an industrial area in Stoney Creek on Monday, March 1, 2021 shortly after 2:30 p.m., regarding a suspicious shipment being loaded onto a transport truck.
Upon arrival police discovered processed cannabis hidden in amongst the shipment.
The vice and drug unit was contacted, attended and began an investigation.
A search warrant was executed on both the warehouse and transport truck, yielding 653 bags of cannabis, weighing approximately one pound per bag.
A 56-year-old Hamilton man has been arrested without incident and held in custody.
The estimated value of the drugs seized is believed to be more than $4.5 Million in Canadian currency.
The cannabis was concealed inside sand blasting bags and stacked on skids for delivery. The shipment was destined for the state of Illinois, USA. The estimated value of the drugs in the USA would be approximately $5 Million US. The Vice and Drug Unit are working with the US authorities on this investigation.
Based on the level of sophistication used to conceal the cannabis and the method used to transport it across the border police believe members of organized crime to be involved. The amount of drugs seized and the method used to avoid detection at the US border is consistent with high-level drug importing and exporting,” Detective Sergeant Jason Cattle, Vice and Drug Unit.