Cocaine seized from sailboat in East River
Two men facing charges of conspiracy and possession for the purpose of trafficking
Jacques Grenier and his sailboat’s unexpected arrival on Sunday came as a pleasant surprise to East River Marine’s business manager.
Cheryl Hornsby had last spoken to the charming 68-yearold last fall before he departed the secluded dock and sailed for the Caribbean, where he said he was intending to stay for the winter.
Smiling and gregarious, Grenier seemed to be in fine form on Sunday, exuding the same friendly manner Hornsby and the handful of staff members at the marine yard had come to expect in their dealings with him.
Hours later, 270 kilograms of cocaine was allegedly seized from Grenier’s sailboat Quesera by Canada Border Services Agency officers.
Grenier and Luc Chevrefils, 59, of Saint-Zotique, Que., appeared in provincial court in Halifax on Tuesday facing charges of conspiracy and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Grenier, who faces an additional charge of importing cocaine, and Chevrefils are due back in court on today for a bail hearing.
“He would be the very last guy I’d expect to be involved in this,” said Hornsby from her office on Wednesday. “He had such a gentle manner, the nicest guy, incredibly intelligent. He loved to share all kinds of stories about his world travels down through the Caribbean.”
By Wednesday morning, the vessel was out of the water and sitting unobstructed on the marine yard’s dock. Greg Harnish was busy about nine metres away doing maintenance work on his boat.
He said he noticed border agents inspecting the boat on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, he added, a large truck arrived to perform X-rays on the boat.
“That’s all they told me,” said Harnish. “There were about four of them and if it wasn’t for the border security people, you wouldn’t know anything was going on, it was that quiet here. But they were there 24 hours a day.”
Authorities remain tight-lipped about the investigation. Nova Scotia RCMP would not comment, saying the investigation is in the hands of the border agency. A spokesman for the agency said only that a vessel in the Hubbards area was searched over the weekend.