Kelowna Arrest Linked to Major International Meth Bust Involving Pickle Jars
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Kelowna, B.C. - A 46-year-old foreign national arrested in Kelowna is connected to an international drug trafficking operation that saw Canadian and Australian authorities seize 115 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in jars of pickles.
In January 2026, RCMP investigators, working with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers at the Tsawwassen Container Examination Facility, intercepted a shipping container bound for Melbourne, Australia.
Inside multiple cases of pickles, officers discovered 115 kg of methamphetamine carefully concealed within some of the jars.
The investigation, led by the RCMP Federal Policing Pacific Region Drugs and Organized Crime section in partnership with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), culminated on March 17, 2026.
On that day, two men, aged 40 and 63, were arrested in Australia during raids in Sydney and Melbourne.
Authorities seized approximately $400,000 in cash, eight one-kilogram silver bars, a luxury vehicle, jewellery, watches, electronic devices, and drug paraphernalia.
The 40-year-old faces charges of attempting to import and conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.
The 63-year-old was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of the drugs.
In Kelowna, the 46-year-old foreign national was arrested the same day. He was later released by the RCMP pending further investigation into the attempted exportation of the drugs and has been referred to the CBSA for immigration enforcement action.
Search warrants were also executed in Abbotsford, Lower Nicola, and Kelowna, where police seized multiple cell phones and other electronic devices.
“Drug trafficking knows no borders, and neither does our drive to confront it,” said Tim Arseneault, Acting Deputy Regional Commander, RCMP Federal Policing, Pacific Region.
Kelowna Arrest Linked to Major International Meth Bust Involving Pickle Jars
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