FOG BLOG MARITIMES LOG: NS POLICE STOP NETS HUGE DRUG BUST!

N.S. police and Homeland Security in U.S. show off ‘extraordinary’ cocaine bust Police in Nova Scotia say they’ve disrupted “one of the more sophisticated drug trafficking networks within Atlantic Canada” and contributed to the largest cocaine bust ever seen in western New York state.

During a news conference Tuesday, officials revealed items seized as part of a 16-month investigation led by Nova Scotia RCMP’s Federal Policing section, dubbed Operation Heinze.

Among the cocaine bricks were cash, silver bars and coins, and other illicit drugs including magic mushrooms. “As a result of this investigation … fewer dangerous drugs will reach the streets of Atlantic Canada,” said Supt. Jason Popik, Federal Policing Criminal Operations Officer with the Nova Scotia RCMP.

According to police, officers identified a criminal group involving 37-year-old Ahmed El Kady from Hamilton, Ont. in spring 2022. RCMP allege the group was importing drugs into Canada from the United States, and was moving imported cocaine throughout Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.

In May, officers conducted a traffic stop near the Cobequid Pass and intercepted 40 kilograms of cocaine en route to Halifax. Police arrested a 52-year-old Bedford, N.S. man, who was released from custody pending a court appearance.

After conducting several searches in the Halifax area in September, four people were arrested and face various charges including laundering proceeds of crime, possession of a controlled substance and possession of property obtained by crime.