3 charged in $9M Vancouver drug bust

The threewere among the six menarrested outside the Coast Mountain bus terminal in South Vancouver on Sept. 27 in a large-scale operationthat blocked rush hour traffic for several hours.

The arrest followed a four-month-longinternational investigation involving both RCMP, Vancouver police, and members of the Canada Border Services Agency, said police on Tuesday.

"In early September CBSA intercepted seven shipping containers through the Port of Vancouver," said a statement released by the RCMP.

"Those containers, which had been imported from Mexico, were taken aside for a secondary inspection. A close examination found cocaine and methamphetamine concealed inside stone bricks."

Eduardo Sierra Gonzalez, 32, of Mexico, Francisco Javier Gomez, 51, of Vancouver, and Jason Quinn Lawrence, 42, of Vancouver are facing charges of conspiracy to import cocaine. More charges against the other men are likely, police said.

Following the arrests, police used search warrants to get inside a Vancouver warehouse and three residences where they found drugs and cash worth between $8.7 millionand $9.7 million, said police.

"The amount and value of drugs and cash in this investigation leaves little doubt that organized crime is involved," said police.

"In total, 212 kilograms of cocaine, 63 kilograms of methamphetamine and more than $17,000 in cash have been taken out of the hands of drug dealers."