Vancouver, B.C.- Six men are facing charges  in the wake of a  Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit  investigation  into  a drug importation  scheme.

CFSEU’s investigation was initiated in 2008 following information from the Drug Enforcement Administration that Canadian and American-based citizens were using a sophisticated system of encrypted smartphones to communicate and organize drug transactions on an international scale. The investigation spanned British Columbia, California, Mexico and Peru.

The investigation revealed that a number of the accused travelled extensively throughout North and South America, conspiring to buy cocaine and importing it into Canada and then exporting ecstasy into the U.S. 

A number of seizures took place over the course of the investigation beginning on August 21, 2008 when 23 kilograms (117,000 pills) of ecstasy pills were seized in Princeton, B.C. 

On December 20, 2008, another 121 kilograms of cocaine were seized at the Pacific Border Crossing. A few days later, on December 24, a further 97 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a commercial transport truck carrying bananas were also seized at the Pacific Border Crossing. 

In May 2009, another 10 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Burnaby.