Image: BC Highway Patrol / Police say 73 kilograms of cocaine was seized by police after a traffic stop earlier this month. A 28-year-old Surrey man faces charges in relation to the incident.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Man charged

Fraser Valley man charged after police locate 73 kgs of coke in his vehicle

Oct 28, 2024 | 8:59 AM

SURREY – Provincial Mounties say a traffic stop by BC Highway Patrol officers has resulted in the arrest of a 28-year-old man from Surrey after approximately 73 kilograms of cocaine was located in his vehicle earlier this month.

According to a statement from BCHP spokesperson Corporal Michael McLaughlin, the traffic stop coincided with a joint enforcement roadblock between the BC Highway Patrol’s Traffic Safety Unit (Police Dog Service) and the Sicamous RCMP on Highway #1 near Malakwa on October 8, 2024. The Traffic Safety Unit was supplemented with police officers from various BC Highway Patrol Units, including the Integrated Impaired Driving Unit, BC Highway Patrol (Burnaby) and BC Highway Patrol (Nelson).

The driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was subsequently released on conditions and is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. The driver won’t be identified until charges are approved by B.C. Prosecution Service, Cpl. McLaughlin said. The investigation remains ongoing and the vehicle was confiscated by authorities.

“This operation highlights the BC Highway Patrol’s Traffic Safety Unit’s ongoing efforts to make both our roadways and communities safer by removing dangerous drugs from circulation and preventing them from reaching our communities in BC,” said Inspector Lori Orstad, Officer in Charge of BC Highway Patrol Special Traffic Operations. “The preliminary investigation would suggest that this has all the earmarks of organized crime. This is a very large amount of drugs so certainly expect to see an impact on the illegal drug trafficking operations within the province.”