US embassy cable - 04HALIFAX174

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, CA, BB 
SUBJECT: MAJOR DRUG BUST OFF COAST OF NOVA SCOTIA 
 
REF: Halifax 172 
 
 
1.  (U)  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Halifax, 
Nova Scotia, working with officials from Montreal seized 500 
kilograms of cocaine aboard the Antiguan 15-meter sailing vessel 
the "Friend Ship" on Monday, July 5, 2004.  The seizure was 
worth an estimated value of more than C$18 million. 
 
2. (U) The year-long international operation dubbed "Project 
Columbie" by the Montreal police force was the second major 
cocaine seizure in the Nova Scotia in less than a week.  When 
police in Montreal learned a group of Quebec residents were 
conspiring with South American cocaine suppliers to smuggle tons 
of drugs from the Caribbean and South American into Canada and 
England, they worked together with other Federal Canadian 
government agencies and officials from Antigua and French 
officials from the Caribbean Island of St. Martin.  According to 
local broadcast news and newspaper reports, the "Friend Ship" 
left Antigua on June 23, 2004.  The sailing vessel's first stop 
was to be Nova Scotia where the drugs were destined for markets 
in Canada.  The drugs were to be off-loaded in the Village of 
Moser River, about 90 kilometers east of Halifax.  The drugs 
were then to be hidden in a private residence in Moser River 
before being distributed to other provinces within Canada. The 
bust resulted in nine people being arrested from Quebec, Nova 
Scotia and Antigua.  The "Friend Ship" has been seized and is 
currently being held under close guard at the Department of 
National Defence property in Halifax Harbor. 
 
3. (SBU)  According to a senior RCMP official, the shipment was 
from Venezuela, as was the case with reftel.  The official 
lamented that beyond the arrests, there would be little impact 
on drug flows to Canada.  "To get a feeling for the size of the 
traffic, you only have to know that the price for cocaine 
remains unchanged following each bust." Arguing that the 
traffickers target Canada because of the lower risk (the U.S. 
imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, whereas Canada 
only imposes 8 years),  the official offered their opinion that 
Canada must stiffens its drug laws if it wishes to significantly 
impact the trade over the long-term. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HILL