A historic amount of drugs worth over $69 million seized at YVR
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced one of its largest drug seizures ever, and it took place at YVR.
The federal agency responsible for managing the country’s borders revealed that “a significant seizure of cocaine and methamphetamine” occurred near the end of the summer.
“On September 3, 2025, CBSA Border Services Officers at the Vancouver International Airport intercepted a combined total of 560 kilograms of narcotics,” said CBSA in a release. “The drugs, which were concealed in a shipment of car parts destined for Australia, were transferred to the RCMP, and the investigation is ongoing.
“This represents one of the CBSA’s largest narcotics seizures destined for export at Vancouver International Airport.”
CBSA
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According to the CBSA, border officers detected and seized 300 compressed powder bricks containing 319 kg of cocaine during the drug seizure at YVR.
Officers also seized 110 vacuum-sealed packages filled with 241 kg of methamphetamine. All together, the drugs were valued at over $69 million.
“This seizure represents millions of dollars kept out of the hands of criminals and demonstrates the strength in collaboration with our law enforcement partners,” said Nina Patel, Regional Director General, Canada Border Services Agency, Pacific Region, in a release.
“CBSA officers work around the clock to disrupt organized crime and prevent dangerous drugs from crossing our borders.”
CBSA
Stephen Lee, Acting Regional Commander, RCMP Federal Policing, Pacific Region, added that its Border Integrity officers and the CBSA officers worked together seamlessly from detection to seizure to the ongoing investigation.
“Together we’re dismantling the criminal networks that attempt to exploit our borders and we’ll continue this collaborative approach to protect our communities,” added Lee.
This is not the only major drug seizure in recent memory for the Metro Vancouver area.
Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock
Police in North Vancouver say a tip about a kidnapping led to a massive seizure of drugs on Halloween in 2023.
In 2021, VPD announced that they seized more than $4 million worth of drugs as a result of an investigation targeting gang activity in the region.
And the year before, Vancouver police revealed that they seized nearly $3 million worth of street drugs and eight handguns after a four-month investigation.