Authorities in Canada seized $83 million worth of cocaine linked to a notorious Mexican cartel, marking the largest haul of the drug in Toronto’s history, officials announced Tuesday.
The over 835 kilograms of cocaine is alleged to have ties to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which the Justice Department has described as “one of the world’s most violent and prolific drug trafficking organizations.”
Officers discovered 475 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a truck and the remaining was seized at stash houses, Toronto police said in a news release. Police said the truck and its cargo were part of a larger transnational drug trafficking operation originating in Mexico.
The seized cocaine was part of an ongoing investigation called Project Castillo that started in August.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said Tuesday the cocaine was certain to end up in other Canadian regions, from Newfoundland to British Columbia.