Canadian border agents seize 246 kilos of cocaine in B.C.

A detector dog assisted with the seizures of cocaine at the border between British Columbia and Washington state. (CBSA)

Canadian border officials in British Columbia have seized nearly a quarter-tonne of cocaine that was coming into the province in three separate smuggling incidents in recent weeks, according to the agency.

All three shipments were discovered inside commercial trucks, yielding a combined haul of 246 kilograms of the drug with an estimated street value of $6.6 million, the Canada Border Services Agency said in a news release Monday.

The first seizure was made on Oct. 18, when border guards discovered 82 kilograms of cocaine in a truck entering Canada at the Pacific Highway port of entry in Surrey, according to the agency.

Two weeks later, another truck stopped at the same crossing was found to contain 119 kilograms of cocaine hidden under some lumber and a tarp.

Finally, on Nov. 9, border guards at the nearby Aldergrove crossing uncovered approximately 45 kilograms of cocaine stashed in two bags inside the cab of a truck, according to the CBSA.

The agency says all three drivers were arrested and transferred into the custody of the RCMP's federal organized crime unit.

Canada's public safety minister lauded the Mounties and the CBSA in a statement about the seizures Monday.

"With this significant seizure, it's illegal drugs that won’t end up in our communities, and profit that won't end up in the hands of organized crime," Dominic LeBlanc said.

The CBSA says foreign nationals caught smuggling drugs into Canada can face removal and a ban on returning to the country.