Police in Italy say they have seized more than 100 kg of cannabis in a shipment from Canada.
According to local media reports, the cannabis was discovered by employees at a shipping and logistics company in Settala, a small town outside Milan, due to its strong aroma.
Once contacted, police discovered 108 kg of cannabis in 200 vacuum-sealed packages in a shipment that was supposed to contain absorbent mats for animals.
Investigators are still trying to identify the sender and recipient of the shipment, which was reportedly intended for a destination in the Lazio region near Rome.
Canadian cannabis in other parts of the world
The Bureau of Customs in the Philippines say they have seized a large quantity of cannabis that was shipped into the country from Quebec. The shipment, which was supposed to have contained cotton window curtains, was instead found to contain more than 2 kg of cannabis.
Local authorities evaluated the cost of the cannabis at P3.7 million, or just over $90,000 Canadian—more than $45,000 a kg, an astronomically high figure.
One person was arrested in connection to the shipment.
Illicit shipments of Canadian cannabis pop up in the news periodically. In December, officials in Hong Kong seized 348 kilograms of cannabis hidden in a shipment of ceiling tiles arriving from Canada.
Despite stiff penalties, Hong Kongers, especially young people, are illegally importing hundreds of kilograms of cannabis from Canada and the US, local officials noted in 2020.
In November, Taiwan’s National Police Agency seized 456 kg of cannabis that entered the country from Canada hidden in a shipment of wood pellets.
In September, US Border agents discovered 413 pounds of cannabis in a shipment of dehumidifiers that originated in Canada and was routed through the US to Great Britain.
Such large seizures entering the US from Canada are not uncommon.
More than 23,000 pounds of cannabis were seized at the US/Canadian border by American authorities in 2022. Nearly 80,000 pounds were intercepted in 2021, and nearly 55,000 pounds in 2020.
Seizures of cannabis at the border increased significantly during the time frame when the border was closed to non-essential traffic coming from Canada from March 2020 to November 2021.
