5,485 kg of South African hashish seized at Port of Montreal
Canadian authorities seized 5,485 kilograms of hashish at the Port of Montreal on 19 October 2000. The shipment had travelled from South Asia via South Africa and was intercepted in a joint customs-police operation against a container-trafficking ring.
Canadian authorities seized5,485 kilograms of hashish at the Port of Montreal on 19 October
2000.[1]The hashish had come from South Asia, transiting through South Africa, and the seizure
was a joint effort by customs with Montreal Urban Community police targeting the container.[2]
A parliamentary committee heard the shipment moved on direct shipping routes that re-manifest South
Asian cargo through intermediary ports, and that traffickers paid port insiders a share of each
container’s value to move it through customs.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Staff at Collins Bay Institution, a federal prison in Kingston, Ontario, seized packages containing marijuana, cannabis concentrate and other contraband over six days between October 30 and November 4, 2026. Correctional Service Canada put the total institutional value of the mixed seizure at $593,253 and reported no weights, counts or arrests.
Staff at Cowansville Institution, a medium-security federal prison in Quebec, seized contraband including cannabis concentrate and marijuana on November 1, 2026. Correctional Service Canada put the total institutional value of the mixed seizure at $121,655 and reported no weights, counts, arrests or charges.
Ontario Provincial Police charged three men after searching an address in Midland, Ontario, on 27 October 2026, where officers looking for a wanted person found a loaded handgun, suspected cocaine and methamphetamine, and 63 grams of cannabis shatter. All three face firearm and drug charges and were held for court in Barrie; one is also charged with possessing cannabis for sale.
A joint RCMP, Peel Regional Police and Canada Border Services Agency investigation led to the seizure of 95 kilograms of cannabis and charges against four Ontario men. The authorities described alleged offences involving export, distribution and sale, but did not disclose the suspected export route or destination.
