B.C. man arrested with 33 kilos of cannabis in minivan: police

Police say the man was the lone occupant of the minivan and he was arrested at the scene. (Handout)

A 33-year-old man from Surrey, B.C., was arrested this month after he was pulled over in a minivan packed with storage bins containing 33 kilograms of cannabis, according to police.

The B.C. Highway Patrol says it stopped the driver for a routine check on the Trans-Canada Highway near Yale at around 3:30 p.m. on April 14.

“While speaking to the driver, the officer noted that the minivan was suspiciously full of 10 large storage containers and there was also an overpowering odour of green cannabis coming from inside the vehicle,” the agency said in a news release Friday.

Police say the man was the lone occupant of the minivan and he was arrested at the scene.

His name will not be released unless charges are approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service, according to the release, which described the suspect as “a man as who is known to police for similar offences.”

Insp. Lori Orstad said the case illustrates “how routine traffic enforcement can also uncover other serious violations.”

Under the federal Cannabis Regulations, a licence is required to possess, store, or transport large quantities of cannabis, the release said. “As the driver could not produce such a licence, he was arrested.”