Men charged after cocaine found on ship

Three men from out of province have been charged with conspiracy to import cocaine after a drug seizure in the Port of Halifax earlier this month.

Divers inspected a ship docked at the Halterm Container Terminal on June 9 and found approximately 150 kilograms of cocaine hidden on the bottom of the vessel, sources in the justice system said.

Three suspects allegedly had diving equipment with them when they were arrested near the container terminal.

The accused are identified in court records as Matthew Ryan Lambert, 34, of Richmond, B.C.; Dangis Seinauskas, 46, of Ajax, Ont; and Darcy Peter Bailey, 46, of Fort St. John, B.C. The trio were arraigned in Halifax provincial court June 11 on a charge of conspiring together or with others to import cocaine into Canada.

They were represented by duty counsel that day and again June 14 but had retained private lawyers for their third appearance June 20. Joel Pink represented Lambert, while Stan Macdonald spoke for Seinauskas and Patrick Macewen appeared with Bailey.

The men are due back in court next week for a bail hearing.

None of the defence lawyers wished to comment on the case other than to say very little evidence has been disclosed to them by the Crown.

Prosecutor Jeff Moors also refused to provide any details about the seizure in advance of the bail hearing.

Sources said the cocaine was discovered on the Arica, a Liberian-registered container ship that docked in Montreal before stopping in Halifax.

The drugs were wrapped in plastic and concealed in the ship’s sea chest, a recess on the bottom of the vessel through which ocean water is drawn in for cooling, firefighting and other purposes. Most sea chests are protected by a removable grating.

RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency officers were involved in the seizure.