Two Arrested for Smuggling Over 81kg of Cocaine Through Montreal Port

April 02: Two men have been charged in connection with the discovery of a large quantity of cocaine in a shipment of plastic drawers at the Port of Montreal.

The two appeared before a Quebec Court judge at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday and were ordered detained until bail or release hearings scheduled for Monday.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Camille Habel said the men were arrested this week at a warehouse on St-Urbain St. after Canada Border Services Agency inspectors discovered more than 81 kilograms of cocaine in a shipping container at the port.

RCMP investigators were notified of the discovery and they waited to see who would claim the container. A few days later, the container was picked up and delivered by truck to the warehouse by a driver who does not face charges.

The men who were arrested met the driver at the warehouse and took control of the delivery. Based on a series of photographs released by the RCMP on Thursday, it appears the men were preparing to transfer the cocaine from the packages of plastic drawers to hockey equipment bags found in the trunk of a car at the warehouse.

Tudor Donciu, 32, a resident of St-Laurent, was arrested along with Patrick Simionescu, 26, of Laval. Both men were born in Romania and one is a Canadian citizen.

In 2016, Donciu was arrested by Montreal police in St-LĂ©onard and was alleged to have been in possession of a kilogram of cocaine, but any charges filed against him in that case were later withdrawn. Simionescu does not have a criminal record.

Both men are charged with illegally importing cocaine into Canada between March 28 and April 2 and with being in possession of cocaine with the intent to traffic in it.

Source: Montreal Gazette

Previous Article
Next Article