A Victoria man and a foreign national have been arrested and charged in relation to a sophisticated cocaine smuggling operation uncovered in Port Hardy this weekend.
The two men were arrested at Port Hardy dock early Saturday morning after they raised police suspicions by providing false information about their vessel.
Officers with the RCMP Federal Drug Enforcement Branch said they seized "a significant amount" of cocaine, but the branch spokesman Staff Sgt. Dave Goddard could not say how much.
The men are each charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
A large contingent of heavily armed officers with the drug enforcement branch, an RCMP tactical team and a police dog unit swarmed the boat and arrested the two men aboard.
The 39-year-old Victoria man is known to police, Goddard said, adding that this was a sophisticated operation, with cocaine being imported from another country.
Goddard could not say where the 38-year-old foreign national is from.
Mark Proulx, maritime co-ordinator at the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said it appeared the boat was from Panama but Goddard could not confirm that.
The men will remain in custody until their appearance in Victoria provincial court Friday.
Police are not releasing their names until the court date.
