RCMP seize up to $3M in cocaine, arrest 5 men as part of Project Bowman

Police seized nine kilograms of cocaine inone-kilogram blocks and arrested five peopleas part of Project Bowman, in one of the largest cocaine busts in the province's history.

The drugs, with a street value of $2 million to $3 million, entered the province hidden in freight being transported by a trucking company, without the company's awareness, according to police.

While the arrests will affect drug distribution, police said, there are multiple groups trafficking at this level in the province and last week's bustis one of an increasing number of multi-kilogram cocaine seizures in Newfoundland and Labrador,saidRCMP Staff Sgt. Stefan Thomsat a news conference Monday.

"There's no signs of it slowing down at this time, but we'll continue to keep at it," Thoms said.

Organized crime involved: police

The cocaine seized in the March 29 arrests was tied to organized crime in the province, Thoms said.

"Any time you're dealing with seizures of cocaine at this level, at a multi-kilo level, you're always dealing with organized crime," he said, pointing to the co-ordinationthat would have been required for this operation.

A multi-kilogram amount of cocaine is generally diluted several times as it's prepared to be sold at street level, Thoms said. The street value of the amount seized would vary depending on how it was cut before sale, he said.

The cocaine bricks seized by police were covered in coffee and sealed in plastic to mask their smell.

"Criminal organizations come up with new and different ways in order to secrete and mask drugs for transporting it, and it's just up to us to try and keep pace with it and figure out what the techniques are, and try and defeat those techniques," Thoms said.

N.L. and Ontario residents charged

The five men, three from Newfoundland and Labrador and two from Ontario, were arrested in St. John's and charged with one count each of cocaine trafficking and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. One of the men was also charged with a breach of recognizance.

Other items related to cocaine distribution were also seized, including vacuum sealers, a hydraulic press, cellphones and several thousand dollars in cash.

The RCMPannounced the details of the five-day investigation, which involved the RCMP St. John's federal serious and organized crime unit with support from other RCMP units in the province,at thenews conference Monday afternoon at its headquarters in St. John's.

Less than four months ago, the RCMPannounced that Project Broken resulted in the seizure of more than $840,000 in cash the biggest cash seizure in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador along with guns, cocaine, diamond jewelry and grills.

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