Mahendrapaul Doodnauth, 45, of Seguin Court in Toronto, is charged with importing cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Bottles of bright orange hot sauce had an unusual travel companion on the freighter bringing them here from Guyana recently.Packets of cocaine worth a total of $40 million were taped to cardboard dividers in boxes of the sauce destined for a food distribution company in Etobicoke. The shipment – one of the largest drug busts in Ontario history – was seized two weeks ago in Saint John, N.B., police said yesterday.The hiding method was "very ingenious," said Det. Sgt. Mario Lessard of Durham Region police. "I've never seen it before."The 276-kilogram seizure of high-quality cocaine followed a year-long investigation into the source of drugs found on street gang members and drug users.Insp. Tom Cameron told reporters that police became aware last spring of a suspect who was "at or near the top" of a drug-smuggling operation, but didn't have enough evidence to charge anyone else.Border guards discovered the cocaine while inspecting shipping containers on a freighter Dec. 8. Agents found drugs in 551 of the 1,250 boxes of sauce and seasoning.
All but two kilograms were removed before the shipment was sent on to Caribbean International Food Distributors at 127 Westmore Dr., near Finch Ave. W. and Highway 27, police said. A man was arrested last Friday after unloading all 1,250 boxes at a rented storage facility.The investigation and bust were Durham's largest, said Chief Mike Ewles, crediting his officers and assistance from the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency."Cocaine is a highly addictive poison that tears families apart. It is often the root cause of many crimes, especially at the street level," Ewles said, adding it also "supports criminal gangs and wreaks havoc in our communities, with associated turf wars and killings."The drugs were bound for the GTA and beyond, police said.
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