RCMP officers in B.C. have found an increasing number of incidents where tractor-trailers were used to smuggle contraband across international borders. Some incidents in 2006 included:

January 2006 – A propane tanker fails to stop for US inspectors at the Aldergrove crossing. It is later pulled over by RCMP in Abbotsford, where Canadian border officers find 127 kg of cocaine inside the tank.

February 2006 – Canadian authorities charge three men after discovery of 67 kg of cocaine in three boxes in an otherwise empty van at the Pacific Highway crossing. Another 33 kg is seized from a warehouse.

March 2006 – US Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pacific Highway crossing find 210 kg of MDMA/ecstasy and 375 kg of marijuana concealed in drums.

July 2006 – A tractor-trailer carrying a load of carrots is searched at the Pacific Highway crossing, where Canadian officers find 61 bricks of cocaine in four cardboard boxes.

September 2006 – Border officers at the Port of Cascade search a pickup truck and find a hidden compartment in the vehicle body holding about 80 kg of cocaine.

November 2006 – US officials in Lynden find about 257 kg of cocaine in the floor of an empty car trailer being towed north by a Savona man.

RCMP in B.C. have taken the initiative to set up this Tip Line, 888-598-4602, to educate the trucking industry and make them aware of the ramifications of getting involved in smuggling contraband across international borders.