Major drug bust in Dorval

Eight men are under arrest for alleged links to a criminal organization specializing in cocaine importation after a major drug bust last Wednesday by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airport.

"We conducted this investigation with the cooperation of Montreal police," said RCMP spokesperson Kathy Brousseau.

According to an RCMP press release, six of the eight individuals, five of whom are from the Montreal region, will be charged for importing drugs and "conspiracy to import drugs."

It is unclear whether any of those arrested are from the West Island. "We can't give out any more information than saying they're from the Montreal region," said Brousseau.

"We started this investigation in August 2006 after receiving a tip," she added, though she could not divulge what kind of information led to it more precisely.

Over the course of the investigation, 16 kilograms of cocaine were apprehended in total, as well as four Toyota vehicles and two firearms. The vehicles were seized by the RCMP in a container in Rivière des Prairies bound for Africa, although Brousseau could not say what country.

Three of those under arrest were employees of Cara Enterprises, a Canadian company which handles the majority of airline catering contracts at Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Inc. and also owns several Canadian fast-food and restaurant chains, such as Harvey's, Kelsey's and Swiss Chalet.

"Given that the investigation is ongoing," a Cara statement said, "we cannot comment beyond confirming that Cara Airline Resolutions has been fully co-operating with the RCMP over the full course of its investigation."

During a raid against organized crime at the airport in November 2006, the RCMP arrested two men with ties to Cara Enterprises. The RCMP said there were no ties between the current arrests and the ones two years ago.

The Cara statement claims it cooperated fully with the RCMP even before those arrests two years ago. However, the company did not return requests for comment on whether security procedures had been updated since 2006.