Vancouver police say $5.8M of cocaine found in t-shirt order is record bust

Vancouver police say the largest cocaine seizure in the force’s history was discovered by employees at a legitimate company sorting through a t-shirt order.

The 328.55-kilogram seizure, worth an estimated $5.8 million, was found hidden among boxes of t-shirts that were ordered by a Vancouver-based business, police said Tuesday. The company’s staff found the drugs, and police were called to the business on July 21.

“Obviously, the business was shocked by what it found. They called police right away and are in no way associated with the seized cocaine,” said Sgt. Travis Fraser in a statement.

“This amount of drugs, as well as the stamps and packaging, clearly indicates organized crime is behind the shipment.”

Police said the seizure is traced back to a shipping container that left Honduras on May 18. It was loaded onto a vessel, then stopped in Jamaica on June 6, before arriving in Montreal on July 5.

“We believe the cocaine was supposed to be removed prior to its arrival at the company.,” Fraser said.

“For some reason, it was not unloaded.”

Police said it’s cooperating with authorities in Canada, Honduras, Jamaica and the U.S. as the investigation continues.

No suspect information was provided.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.