Drug Cartel Sent $4.5M of Meth to Canadian Ford Dealerships by Mistake

ONTARIO, CANADA – Dealers and dealerships aren’t the same thing.

Criminals are able to find creative ways to smuggle drugs, and they have no shortage of these methods. There are endless possibilities, and it keeps law enforcement authorities on alert.

However, there was a shipment of illegal methamphetamine that came from Mexico which didn’t go as planned when they were mistakenly sent to the wrong kind of dealer. The drugs were meant to be sent to drug dealers, but instead ended up at 13 Ford dealerships around eastern Canada. This resulted in a logistical mistake by the smugglers that was costly. Whoops!

According to a press release by authorities from the Ontario Provincial Police, employees working at four Ford dealerships, who have the task of recently arrived vehicle inspections, found spare tires that weren’t to spec.

The tires that were discovered by employees were loaded with packages containing meth who then alerted local authorities. Ford was contacted by police who were able to provide shipping information for those vehicles.

Nine our of 14 vehicles that were searched at 13 Ford dealerships were found to contain meth. Also, six vehicles that were on a second rail car that came from the same shipment from Mexico also were found to have meth in them.

Police then were able to stop a similar shipment of vehicles while it was entering Canada. Almost 400 pounds, or 180 kilograms of meth were packed into the vehicles. Police gave a street value estimate of $4.5 million.

It appeared that the rail company and Ford had been exploited by “a well-established, organized crime group”, police said. Authorities pointed to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel.

There were no more drugs found from inspecting vehicles from the Hermosillo, Mexico factory. It appeared to authorities that the criminals had abandoned packing tires and vehicle shipments to smuggle and distribute drugs.

Smuggling of drugs is a broad criminal enterprise worth billions of dollars, and can be compared to a modern-day “Hydra.” Even though police shut down smuggling methods, it doesn’t matter, and the smugglers are able to figure out new ways to transport the drugs.

Even though the cartel isn’t shipping drugs packed in spare tires hiding in Ford Fusions anymore, there’s no doubt that drugs are still making it across the borders.

This article is according to a report by Motor1.com.