Huge amount of cocaine seized during traffic stop on Trans-Canada in Shuswap

Traffic cops pulled over a Surrey man on the Trans-Canada near Sicamous earlier this month and found approximately 73 kilograms of cocaine in the vehicle.

Sicamous RCMP and officers with the Traffic Safety Unit and Impaired Driving Unit were conducting a joint enforcement roadblock on the Highway 1 near Malakwa on Oct. 8, according to a press release from police.

Police stopped a 28-year-old man from Surrey at the roadblock and found roughly 73 kg of cocaine in the vehicle.

“The preliminary investigation would suggest that this has all the earmarks of organized crime. This is a very large amount of drugs so certainly expect to see an impact on the illegal drug trafficking operations within the province,” BC Highway Patrol Insp. Lori Orstad said in the release.

The driver was released from custody with conditions and is set to appear in court at a later date. RCMP have not identified the driver since the charges have not been approved yet.

The vehicle has been seized as part of the ongoing investigation.

“This operation highlights the BC Highway Patrol’s Traffic Safety Unit’s ongoing efforts to make both our roadways and communities safer by removing dangerous drugs from circulation and preventing them from reaching our communities in BC,” Insp. Orstad said.