Canada charges Ontario businessman
Some CDN$40M of cocaine was found by Canadian authorities in cartons of Guyana pepper sauce and a businessman was to appear in an Ontario court yesterday charged with importing and conspiracy to traffic in the illegal substance
The pepper sauce bottles between which the cocaine was found
The cocaine was seized by Canadian police following months of investigation which saw them tracking the shipment from New Brunswick and letting the accused, identified as 45-year-old Mahendrapaul Doodnauth of Sequin Court in Etobicoke, take possession of it with only a small amount of the cocaine still in the packaging.
According to Canadian media reports the bust is said to be the biggest in the history of the province of Ontario. Doodnauth is said to be the owner of Caribbean International Food Distributors in the town of Etobicoke. Doodnauth was nabbed as he offloaded the boxes at a storage facility.
The cartoons with the pepper sauce
While none of the reports gave a date as to when the shipment would have left Guyana or any other information on the Guyana link, reports said the pepper shipment arrived in the country on board the Tropic Canada in Saint John, New Brunswick on December 8. The freight ship reportedly regularly transports goods between Saint John and the Caribbean.
Media reports said that the drug was inserted into the cardboard dividers inside 551 boxes out of the 1,250 that were carrying the pepper sauce. The cocaine was uncovered by border guards during their inspection of the freighter. Investigators used an X-ray machine and a sniffer dog to find the drugs.
In total, they found 276 kilogrammes of cocaine which, when cut and resold by street-level drug dealers, could amount to as much as 400 kilogrammes of the drug.
The guards removed most of the cocaine, but allowed two kilogrammes to be delivered to Caribbean International Food Distributors and when the boxes were loaded into a storage facility on December 19, Doodnauth was arrested.
Doodnauth has been charged with importing cocaine, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and was expected to appear in court via video link yesterday afternoon.
The bust was the conclusion of an investigation, dubbed “Project Falcon” which began in Durham when officers began to investigate the source of cocaine found in the possession of local street gang members.
The investigation was led by members of the Durham Regional Police Gang Enforcement Unit, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
“Our partners in Canada Border Services haven’t seen this level of sophistication in terms of packaging,” said Durham Police Service Chief Constable, Mike Ewles in the Toronto National Post. At a news conference yesterday, Detective Sergeant Mario Lessard showed reporters how the packs of cocaine each containing 180 grammes had been carefully stashed in the cardboard panels. The cocaine was said to be high-quality and around 80% purity.
According to newsdurhamregion.com, by the middle of this year the cops had begun surveillance of a suspect and the pepper shipment was intercepted on December 8.
Pepper sauce is the latest of local commodities to be ensnared in the cocaine trade in recent years. Water coconuts, molasses, wood, rum and a variety of other items have been intercepted abroad with cocaine. These interceptions have failed to crack networks in Guyana and prosecutions have proceeded overseas where persons have been held.
I was just begging my relavtives to send me some pepper from Guyana, but had to be sepecific and ask them to send the round ones instead of the sauce.[ cocaine in guyana pepper sauce cartons].This is really terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
first of all you need to learn to spell…. the cocaine is not in the pepper sauce maybe u’ll be glad if it was inside… is was found in the diveders of cartons. “GET YOUR NEWS STRAIGHT BEFORE U GO PUBLIC”
I am glad that they found the drugs, it is destroying peoples lives of people
Back in 1995 I was told by a US Customs Officer that Guyanese were simply the most ingenious smugglers he had ever come across!
Oh well it is now time to ‘pay the piper’
Burnham trained us well.
The Government of Guyana should all be arrested. They want investments in the agricultural sector but yet do nothing to root out these criminals.
What is the point of growing for export when the products are used as coy for drug shipments.
Total neglect of the government.
yep, and they were upset when the report said that guyana is amongst the list of one of the most corrupt country
Its not the Government, its the COVETOUS GUYANESE, who lives abroad, who has no intentions of ever going back to Guyana at all, or cannot go BACK period.
Erwin- explain you statement?
What nonesense is this man?Did the government of Guyana tell him to send drugs with his products?
Drugs are coming from all over the world, should each government of those countries be imprisoned?
Senseless blogging.
This man is a shame on hard working Guyanese living in Canada. I left Guyana during the seventies…leaving behind corruption etc and now guyanese are bringing this attitude to canada. Shame on them. I’ve worked so hard for 32 yrs here and don’t have the kind of house this man is living in. Google Earth can show you where he lives…google sequin crt, toronto, ontario, canada.
You know…I will pay off for my house in 2009 and am proud that I did it thru hard work.
trust – guyanese are not bringing any attitude to canada. corruption is all ova and if anyone believed that canada is exempt then they are blind. it is bigger than guyana. canada is not exempt from the likes of drugs cocaine distribution. they can curb it, but cannot stop it and he is just the “tip of the spear” let’s stop acting “brand new” and naive.
for ur information their is no mansion in seguin crt. maybe this man was set up you dont just judge the headlines…. maybe this man was also a hard working guyanese man. never judge…
I totally agree with you concerned.
It’s greed that got him where he is now.He owns a business and according to what you said, his house is something to see, how much more he needs to live comfortable.
This person never care about the many lives ruined because of drugs.
The stupidity of it all.Now his prfits from past drug transactions will dwindle as the high profile lawyers will be solicited to defend him.
Reports like these are just sickening.
These so called business men popping up all over Guyana are a disease to the nation as a whole.
Being the self centered plebs they are, they do not care a darn thing about the reputation of our country. At a time when there is so much potential for our products to make it on the world market, and possibly lift us out of this economic hell, these idiots are causing our exports to be black-listed as drug “products”.
It’s no rocket science to screen every shipment leaving the country (at official ports), so I am wonder why this is not happening…………………… 2+2 always = 4. (May God help Guyana)
This is a huge indictment on the guyanese officials, responsible for security, and customs regulations.. It is also a huge blow to the country’s credibility as an exporter, especially to a country that embraces Guyanese as welcoming as Canada,… If this cargo, really originated in Guy… no stone must be left unturned, to get the perpetrators of this act, and remember how sophisticated this organisation has to be… since Guyana does not produce Cocaine… the linkages are therefore stunning… another huge embarrassment to the guyanese authorities… also great amunition for those who constantly accuse them of complicity… WOW..
You are right on the mark.I agree with you.
With all the conflicting reports about this DRUG DEALERS past illegal activities, it’s hard to believe that officials within the Guyana Government are not involved. My only hope is that the Canadians do a complete criminal investigation of this incident and remain objective in maintaining the integrity of the entire situation
I agree with you Lindenbanna..Lets wait and see how this will play out in the Canadian courts.For sure he is not in this alone.
The Canadian police will get to the bottom of it.
All stores in North America, Canada, UK and others should be checked when shipment of merchandises are sent, all Guyanese are being watched, this should not be, there are many bads eggs in Guyana and else where, drugs are not only coming from Guyana, all over the world drug trades are known, but Guyana seems to be the eye pass for all.
Everyone needs to cease using the Guyana’s name as the Country where drugs are coming from, Guyana is being used as a pass through, these open boarders needs to be protected.
Guyana was always the best and still the best Country, Guyanese are hard working people, lack of employment, cost of living etc:, the small man is being used as mules, while the big drug lords, sits behind and collects.
Government has to step up the drive against drugs, to prevent a higher decline of our people.
Other Countries are the worst drug traders, the US has some many drugies, Guyana cannot hold the amounts.
Drugs in the US are not only used and sold by the small man, persons in good jobs uses drugs, most of them are week-end users, ask all those who resides here.
Every time drugs are found smuggled from Guyana, a red flag goes up, what about Canada, US, Uk and else where, darn, I’m tired of other nations and their citizens washing their mouths on Guyana.
Check your own Country first, and you’ll see that all other Countries are using the small man in Guyana, who r in need to trade for them.
Doodnauth, u r a disgrace to Guyana and the decent hard working Guyanese citizens.
You were given the splendid opportunity to leave Guyana and improved yourself, not that u could not have done so right there, if u wanted to.
What really came into your head when u decided to be a drug dealer, using a business name as your coverup for ur drug dealing.?
Cheryl, u dont just be rude to a man cause the news says he’s guilty… do u know him? i bet u dont. well let me tell u something i know MR. Doodnauth and i know he’s not guilty. he’s being set up… and whoever set this man up will be caught sooner or later… he is a business man who sells these pepper sauce to big companies. he is not no drug dealer.. if he was he will not get all these things in his name. think about it. he lives in a home that he rents half and lives in half. a man with millions will not live life like that. i know cause i am a very close friend and neighbour of mr. doodnauth. him and his wife is a very hardworking guyanese couple for years. i know cause i see them.