Singh confirms CANU collaborating in probe with RCMP
HEAD of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), Mr. James Singh said yesterday, that, in light of the cocaine in fruits bust in Canada, they are working collaboratively with the Police, locally, to ascertain who made the shipment. The fresh pineapples were shipped from Guyana to Canada on Monday and, as the investigation is ongoing, he could not divulge any details since it could compromise the probe, as local law enforcement agencies try to assist their overseas counterparts.
Four persons are facing charges after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) found the narcotic hidden inside hollowed-out fruits in an air freighted consignment.
Police seized a total of 20 kilogrammes of cocaine in the consignment that included pineapples and mangoes which arrived at Pearson International Airport from Guyana last week, destined for a fake Toronto address.

Cocaine found in a shipment of hollowed-out Star Apples at Pearson airport. (photos courtesy of the RCMP)

The Police began investigating after the RCMP seized a marine container in Saint John, New Brunswick, in August, with 19 kilogrammes of cocaine in hollowed-out pineapples. Months later, authorities also confiscated 115 kilogrammes of cannabis (marijuana) concealed in a shipment of watermelons on two trucks, at the Windsor-Detroit border.
Police said those cases had ties to Jamaica, Costa Rica and the United States (U.S.).
“We have successfully interdicted several cocaine shipments in recent months,” Superintendent Rick Penney, the RCMP Drug Enforcement Commander said in a statement.
“As we identify and stop methods employed by organised crime groups, they will, no doubt, come up with new ways to bring illicit drugs into Canada. For this reason, we must remain diligent and continue to build partnerships within Canada and the international law enforcement community to combat organised crime,” he added.
Susan O’Neil, 28, of Scarborough; Basil Barnett Blair, 63, of Toronto; Metussala Mannings, 27, of Toronto and Kenneth Wong, 38, of Ajax, are facing drug charges, City News reported in Toronto, implicating some Guyanese.