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A recent shipment to Italy from Canada manifested to contain absorbent mats for animals was actually packed with 108 kilograms of cannabis.

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According to local reports, first identified by StratCann, police made the discovery earlier this week and seized the shipment from a company that reportedly deals with logistics and shipments in the Milan area.

Employees called the police after detecting the odour of cannabis wafting from several parcels on a pallet arriving from Canada. Upon inspection, police found 200 vacuum-packed bags of bud in the shipment. Investigations into the sender and recipient are ongoing.

Per Reuters, recreational weed in small quantities and consumption for medical purposes is allowed in Italy, but selling and producing cannabis is a criminal offence.

It’s far from the first time that large quantities of cannabis from Canada have arrived at international destinations.

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Last month, 34 kilograms of meth and 38 kg of cannabis were discovered in a shipment of 57 piles of ceiling tiles that landed in Hong Kong. Authorities report the tiles were hollowed-out in the centre and the drugs were hidden inside. The bust was valued at around $4 million and reportedly sparked joint a joint investigation from Hong Kong and Canadian authorities.

In 2019, an agreement was signed between the Canada Border Services Agency and customs and excise of Hong Kong to work together on a number of issues, including cannabis smuggling. The pact came a few months after authorities in Hong Kong reported a 500 per cent increase in drug confiscations and pointed a finger at Canada, noting a surge in cannabis confiscations after federal legalization was implemented. 

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Also in January, two Calgary men in their 30s were charged after allegedly shipping methamphetamine, hash and cannabis to destinations around the world, including Australia, Greenland and the United Kingdom.

The investigation began after a shipment of 1.5 kg of meth was intercepted in Australia. Canadian authorities later executed search warrants in the Calgary area after one of the accused attempted to ship packages to the U.K. and Greenland. Those searches resulted in the seizure of 1.08 kg of hash and 1.1 kg of cannabis.

In 2021, detector dog Bruno alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to a shipment of humidifiers from Canada en route to the U.K. that contained 187 kgs of weed. All 12 dehumidifiers in the order contained cannabis, and police estimated the cannabis to have a street value of almost $1.5 million.

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