Boat came from Caribbean: authorities
A sailboat found to be carrying 273 kilograms of cocaine after it arrived at a Lunenburg County marine yard last weekend had travelled from Saint-Martin in the Caribbean, law enforcement authorities say.
Canada Border Services Agency officers boarded the 9.14-metre Quesera at East River Marine on Sunday night and seized several bricks of cocaine before calling in the RCMP.
“We were aware of it coming,” said Dominic Mallette, the CBSA’s acting director for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Inside the vessel’s forward sleeping quarters, officers found several bricks of suspected cocaine hidden inside a sealed bed frame, and the RCMP were called in, he said.
“Our officers are trained to look in those areas,” Mallette said in an interview. “If the vessel is 20 years old, and the screws are brand new, that means somebody’s been there recently.”
The vessel’s operator, Jacques John Grenier, 68, of Hubbards, was arrested at the scene at about 11:30 p.m.
Luc Chevrefils, 59, of SaintZotique, Que., was apprehended Monday at about 4 a.m. at a hotel in Dartmouth. RCMP also seized a vehicle.
Both men are charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and conspiracy to import cocaine. Grenier faces an additional charge of importing cocaine.
The pair first appeared in Halifax provincial court Tuesday.
Bail hearings were supposed to be held Friday but were postponed while Chevrefils’s lawyer, Pat Atherton of Dartmouth, puts together a release plan and Grenier makes arrangements to retain legal aid counsel.
Judge Gregory Lenehan remanded the men back to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.
The case will return to court Monday. Grenier will appear via a video link from the jail.
“These are very serious offences,” federal Crown attorney Glen Scheuer said after Friday’s court proceedings.
“At this point in time, we are opposed to the release of both individuals. Obviously, if further information comes to light, we could reassess our position.”
A joint release from the border agency and RCMP said it is the second significant drug seizure in the province this year.
About 200 kilograms of hashish was found hidden in a chocolate bar shipment at the Port of Halifax in May.
“This seizure represents the great work being done with our partners at the CBSA,” RCMP Supt. Alfredo Bangloy said in the release.
“By sharing intelligence and co-ordinating enforcement activities, we are targeting criminal groups and networks that are using increasingly sophisticated methods to attempt to smuggle drugs into our country. This great work has prevented dangerous drugs from reaching our communities.”
The Chronicle Herald reported on the bust earlier this week after fielding a tip about the massive seizure.
Cheryl Hornsby, an employee at East River Marine, told the Herald that Grenier had about $25,000 in work done on the sailboat at the yard before departing for the Caribbean last fall.
She said Grenier lived on his sailboat and was charming, smiling and gregarious. She said he was as friendly as ever when he unexpectedly docked at the marine yard Sunday.
“He would be the very last guy I’d expect to be involved in this,” Hornsby said. “He had such a gentle manner, the nicest guy, incredibly intelligent. He loved to share all kinds of stories about his world travels