Border agents find 273 kilograms of cocaine aboard Nova Scotia sailboat

A sailboat owner who divides his time between the warm waters of the Caribbean and the chillier coast of Nova Scotia is in a Dartmouth, N.S., jail this weekend charged with importing and trafficking cocaine.

The Hubbards man and a 59-year-old Quebec man were arrested Labour Day weekend after a Canada Border Services Agency team showed up at an East River marina in Lunenburg County and boarded a nine-metre, Canadian-registered sailboat belonging to the 68-year-old skipper, who lives aboard the vessel.

Dominic Mallette, acting director for the Canada Border Services Agency for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, said the search turned up 273 kilograms of cocaine.

"It's a big one for us," Mallette said.

Not an easy search

The drugs were concealed in the boat's forecabin, where the sleeping quarters are located.

The night was rainy and windy and it was cramped aboard the small vessel, Mallette said.

"Conditions were not easy," he said.

But the officers knew where to look. "There are hollow areas on the ship. The area was panelled. It was boxed in."

Searchers were also on the lookout for other tipoffs, such as newer screws used on an older ship — indications that "something is being concealed."

The team was back the next day with imaging technology equipment that scanned the boat to complete the search, Mallette said.

Bail hearing postponed

The skipper was arrested at the site and charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, importation and conspiracy to import the drug.

The Quebec man is charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was picked up later by police at a Dartmouth hotel.

Both men were scheduled for a bail hearing Friday in Halifax provincial court but it was postponed until Monday.

"We are opposed to the release of both individuals," federal Crown attorney Glen Scheuer said outside Halifax provincial court.

"Approximately 274 kilograms of cocaine ... is a considerable seizure, obviously relating to the fact that these are very serious offences."

Value of drug shipment is 'significant'

The cocaine was coming from the Caribbean island of St. Martin, most of which was heavily damaged this week by the monster hurricane Irma, Mallette said. He estimated the man's trip took two weeks to a month.

Mallette would not say what the street value of the drugs is.

"We don't like to speak to value but it is significant," he said.

Border services knew in advance the man and his boat were "high risk" for carrying contraband, he said.

'Extremely rare' seizure

Mallette said even small boats and marinas don't escape the notice of the Canadian Border Services Agency.

"Part of our mandate is to search vessels, go to marinas to talk to boat owners, to talk to residents in communities, to educate them about what we do and encourage them to report suspicious activities," he said.

In the past four years, the CBSA in Atlantic Canada has recorded between 130 and 159 drug seizures every year, many of them at ports handling large shipping containers.

Finding such a large stash in a small boat is unusual, Mallette said.

"Something of this magnitude is extremely rare," he said. "It's very difficult to be aware and monitor the sea."