Brief: RCMP finds $100k in liquor in Revelstoke vehicle

RCMP BC Highway Patrol says they found an estimated $100,000 in high end liquor in a minivan parked at the highway rest stop near the Columbia River, saying it believes the owners were importing it from Alberta for resale in B.C. to “illegal casinos or private purchasers.”

The incident happened around midnight on Oct. 27. Police said a “suspicious vehicle” check led to the discovery.

In a statement, police say two people in the vehicle, both Calgary residents, had been, “the subjects of prior criminal activity in the Lower Mainland.”

Police also found about $11,000 in cash in the car and small amounts of cocaine and fentanyl. Police said the minivan was packed to the roof with expensive liquor.

Police said, “investigators believe the intent was to avoid BC’s liquor tax and re-sell the liquor.”

In Canada, there are restrictions on transporting alcohol between provinces. In its statement, the RCMP said they believe it wasn’t the first time the pair had transported alcohol into B.C.

The two people stopped were arrested and later released “pending further investigation,” the RCMP statement said.