Men jailed in plot to smuggle meth from Canada to Australia in canola oil jugs

Rows of seized canola oil jugs containing liquid meth are seen in a handout image.

Eight men have been sentenced to a combined 95 years behind bars in connection with a transnational smuggling plot involving massive amounts of liquid methamphetamine concealed in canola oil jugs.

Authorities said they thwarted four smuggling attempts between Canada and Australia from December 2022 to June 2023, with border agents seizing more than 2.5 tonnes of outbound meth at B.C. ports, all similarly packaged in 17-litre containers of canola oil.

Another 204 kilograms of crystal meth was seized from a separate shipment, police said.

The seizures led to a joint investigation involving the RCMP’s Federal Policing Pacific Region, Canada Border Services Agency and Australian Federal Police that ultimately resulted in the arrests of eight suspects in Australia.

“This case sends a clear message: organized crime has no place to hide,” said Nina Patel, Pacific regional director of the CBSA, in a statement. “Those who attempt to exploit our communities will be stopped through strong, unified action.”

All of the men—seven Australian citizens and one American—have since been convicted, with the last being handed his sentence Wednesday in a New South Wales court. Their names have not been released by authorities in either country.

Australian police said the seized drugs were bound for a clandestine drug laboratory in Melbourne, and estimated their street value at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Canadian authorities hailed the outcome of the investigation as a “significant milestone” in ongoing efforts to curb transnational organized crime.

“While the individuals arrested are not from Canada, this investigation shows that transnational crime networks are far-reaching, and our commitment to disrupting them does not stop at our borders,” said Stephen Lee, acting regional commander of the Federal Policing Pacific Region, in a statement.