Heroin hidden in wood statue seized in Calgary

Border officials intercepted a quantity of heroin concealed in a wooden statue shipped from Africa.

Officers with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) found 65 grams of heroin after examining a courier shipment of crafts from Uganda that was bound for Saskatoon on Feb. 27.

"A closer and more detailed examination revealed the drugs concealed inside the centre of a wooden statue," CBSA said in a release.

This is the most significant drug seizure in Calgary by CBSA officers so far this year, officials said.

CBSA officers have made 55 drug seizures since Jan. 1, including 45 kilograms of khat, 70 grams of opium, 1,400 doses of steroids and 10 litres of safrole, a chemical used in the production of MDMA (ecstasy), officials said.