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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Canada: High-Tech X-Ray Spots Hash Oil
Leah Janzen Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Thursday 25 Jan 2001 Two Woman Arrested In $678,000 Drug Bust HIGH-TECH X-ray equipment that can bore deeper and more precisely into cargo helped Canada Customs agents uncover a huge stash of drugs hidden in bags of coffee and hollowed-out loaves of bread at Winnipeg International Airport early Sunday. Officers uncovered nearly 17 kilograms of hashish oil -- worth $678,000 on the street -- in luggage belonging to two Saskatchewan women who were returning home to Canada on a regularly scheduled flight from Jamaica. "This is the largest seizure of hash oil in Manitoba history,'' said Harry Troche, spokesman for Canada Customs. "And it ranks among the largest of all drug seizures ever made in the province." Troche said the two women were stopped for a customs check as they got off the plane from Jamaica in the early hours of Sunday morning. They were then referred for a second inspection where their bags were X- rayed and agents discovered packages of hash oil hidden in sealed bags of coffee and filling the centre of numerous loaves of hollowed out flatbread. Suspicious items "We've been able to use X-ray technology for years,'' said Troche. "But we've recently acquired new equipment that is state-of-the-art and it was useful in this case." Troche said the Winnipeg airport acquired the new equipment to help ensure security during the 1999 Pan Am Games. And the equipment has been upgraded since then and can see deeper into luggage and detect suspicious items more clearly. RCMP Sgt. Steve Saunders said investigators are working to determine where the drugs were headed and to figure out whether the women were working alone or were bringing the drugs into the country for others. Last year, Canada Customs seized $900 million worth of drugs across the country. The largest seizures were made at airports with direct connections to drug centres like South America and southeast Asia. Georgina McLeod, 41, and Barbara Gonzales, 33, both face charges of possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking, importation of cannabis resin and conspiracy to import cannabis resin under the controlled drugs and substances act. The women made a brief appearance in court yesterday and were released pending their next court date.
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