6-year sentence for traveller caught with 3 kg of drugs hidden in suitcase at B.C. airport

The CBSA included an image of the X-ray that revealed the drugs inside the suitcase. (CBSA)

A Mexican traveller has been sentenced to six years in prison after attempting to smuggle three kilograms of illegal drugs into Canada through Abbotsford International Airport last year, the Canada Border Services Agency announced Thursday.

Martha Alvarado-Lopez was arrested on March 29, 2023, while attempting to enter Canada from Puerto Vallarta.

CBSA officers discovered two kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of cocaine in a "false side" of Alvarado-Lopez's suitcase, the agency said in a news release.

The CBSA shared an image of the X-ray that detected the anomaly in its announcement.

Alvarado-Lopez was arrested and taken into custody by the RCMP's Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit.

The traveller was sentenced on Nov. 27, 2023, the CBSA said. It did not explain why it waited more than a month to publicize the sentence.

Alvarado-Lopez's sentence is for importation of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, according to the CBSA.

"Border services officers are highly trained in detecting concealed contraband and are committed to protecting the integrity of Canada’s borders," said Nina Patel, regional director general for the CBSA's Pacific Region, in the release.

"This seizure and conviction demonstrate the important partnership between the CBSA and the RCMP as we work together to keep illegal and dangerous drugs from entering our communities.”

From Jan. 1 through Oct. 31, 2023, the CBSA's Pacific Region made 6,389 seizures of illegal narcotics. More than 7,900 kilograms of methamphetamine and 239 kilograms of cocaine were seized during that period, the agency said.

The Pacific Region was also home to more than half of all weapons seizures made by the CBSA during the same period.