CBSA seizes 218 kg of cannabis bound for the UK at Saint John
CBSA officers examining an outbound container at the Port of Saint John on 16 September 2025 found 399 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing 218 kg behind a declared load of empty plastic bottles; the UK-bound shipment was handed to the RCMP for investigation.
🇨🇦 Port of Saint John, New Brunswick · New Brunswick, Canada
Border officers at the Port of Saint John examined an outbound marine container
on 16 September 2025 after a referral from the CBSA’s Export Team in Halifax,
Nova Scotia.[1][2]The shipment was falsely declared as empty plastic bottles
and was bound for a business in the United Kingdom.[1][2]Inside, officers
found 16 large cardboard boxes holding 399 vacuum-sealed packages of suspected
cannabis weighing 218 kilograms.[1][2]The cannabis and all the evidence were
transferred to the RCMP’s Eastern Region Federal Policing unit in New Brunswick
for further investigation.[1][2]
Although cannabis is legal in Canada, moving it across the border is a serious
criminal offence, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment under the
Customs Act and up to 14 years under the Cannabis Act.[1]The agencies say
cannabis smuggling supports organized crime.[1]
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.
