Pubdate: Sat, 27 Dec 2008 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2008 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Jaspreet Tambar, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) MORE COKE SEIZED IN FOOD SHIPMENT Police Grab Drugs Worth $14.5M Discovered In Second Delivery Destined For Etobicoke Distributor Another $14.5 million worth of cocaine has been seized from a second ship in an operation dubbed Project Falcon - a major drug investigation led by Durham Region police, Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP. The drugs were destined for Caribbean International Food Distributors, the same company police linked to another $40 million drug shipment earlier this week. The container was searched in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Dec. 24 by agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, acting on information received from Canadian investigators. Inside the ship, police found 100 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside cardboard dividers in about 140 boxes of food seasoning destined for the Etobicoke-based distribution company. Along with the previous shipment, the amount of cocaine seized totals 376 kilograms, with an estimated street value of $54.5 million. Project Falcon sought to identify the sources of the criminal network that supplied cocaine to street gangs and drug abusers in Durham Region. The second seizure comes after police announced one of the largest drug busts in Ontario history on Dec. 23. That first freight container arrived at Saint John, N.B. on Dec. 8, where police found 276 kilograms of cocaine. When cut, it would have become approximately 400 kilograms of street-level cocaine, worth $40 million. That drug shipment was traced back to Guyana where the freight containers shipped out, police said. Investigators removed all but two kilograms of the cocaine; the controlled was then delivered to its original destination, Caribbean International Food Distributors. It was received by the company's owner who unloaded the boxes at a rented storage facility on Rexdale Blvd. "Cocaine is a highly addictive poison that tears families apart. It is often the root cause of many crimes, especially at the street level," Durham police chief Mike Ewles told reporters at the time. "Some people engage in a life of crime to support their addiction. It is also a commodity that supports criminal gangs and wreaks havoc in our communities with associated turf wars and killings." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin