More than 1,000 kilograms of illegal cannabis — or just over one tonne — was seized from travellers and commercial shipments before they could leave the country via Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga and other locations the first two months of the year, Canada border services officers say.

The massive amount of cannabis (1,066 kilograms) was intercepted between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 by Canada Border Services Agency officers in the Greater Toronto Area, in conjunction with the RCMP’s Toronto Pearson detachment, the CBSA said in a news release on Thursday.

The agency added the illegal smuggling of cannabis is not only a serious criminal offence, but it also supports organized crime and an array of illegal activities.

Included among the various drug seizures, according to the CBSA:

On Jan. 9, border services officers at Toronto Pearson Airport seized 72 kg of cannabis from a passenger bound for the United Kingdom.
On Jan. 19, border services officers at Toronto Pearson Airport intercepted 61.5 kg of cannabis from a passenger bound for the United Kingdom after a “positive indication” for drugs from a CBSA detector dog team.
On Feb. 12, border services officers in Mississauga seized 224 kg of cannabis from a commercial shipment bound for Germany.
On Feb. 24, while attending UPS facilities for examinations, border services officers in Hamilton seized 7 kg of cannabis in a parcel bound for the Netherlands.

Following the cannabis seizures, the CBSA said it turned the drugs over to the RCMP’s Toronto Pearson detachment, which launched “a criminal investigation into the individuals responsible.”

The border services agency noted that cannabis smuggling “supports organized crime and helps fund other illegal activities such as narcotics and weapons smuggling.”

The CBSA’s “work to intercept this contraband is paramount to dismantling international organized criminal networks,” the agency added.

“Smuggling cannabis across the border is illegal. Consequences are serious, in Canada and abroad.”

In Canada, according to the CBSA, the illicit cross-border movement of cannabis is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years under the Customs Act and up to 14 years under the Cannabis Act.

“In some other countries, you could face the death penalty,” the CBSA said.

Despite the penalties and repeated warnings that such activity is a serious criminal offence, Canadian customs officials say they continue to nab travellers trying to smuggle various amounts of cannabis into and out of the country.

While personal cannabis use is legal in Canada, “cross-border cannabis smuggling is a serious criminal offence,” the federal authority added.

Earlier this year, the border services agency revealed details of a $2 million cannabis bust that was aided by customs officers of the four-legged variety.

CBSA detector dogs helped customs officers locate the illegal shipment, which contained 23 boxes of cannabis worth an estimated $2 million that had arrived at Toronto Pearson on board a flight from Ecuador last August.

The CBSA said its officers across Canada seized more than 46,608 kg of illegal cannabis in 2025.


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