Police say workers moved luggage through secure areas of airport to import cocaine, export cannabis
Two Air Canada ground operations employees have been arrested in connection with an alleged cocaine and cannabis trafficking conspiracy at Montréal–Trudeau Airport, a case that matters to HR professionals because it involves employees allegedly exploiting restricted-area workplace credentials, an insider-threat risk relevant to any employer whose staff hold secure-access clearance.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Federal Policing Eastern Region announced the arrests on Wednesday. According to the police, search warrants were executed the same morning at two residences and a vehicle in the greater Montréal area.
With Air Canada's cooperation, investigators also searched the employees' work base in Dorval, the RCMP said. The two individuals were questioned and released pending further proceedings, and no charges had been formally laid as of the release.
The RCMP said the two suspects "hold various positions related to ground operations at Air Canada" and are alleged to have participated in a conspiracy to move luggage through secure areas of the airport to facilitate the importation of cocaine and the exportation of cannabis.
The investigation
The case originated with a Canada Border Services Agency operation in May 2026 that intercepted 62.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in travel backpacks carried on a flight from Punta Cana, according to the RCMP. The subsequent investigation was led by the RCMP's Airport and Federal Investigations Detachment.
Over the course of that investigation, a further 56 kilograms of cannabis were seized, including two suitcases seized on July 10, the RCMP said. In total, investigators seized more than 118 kilograms of combined narcotics tied to the alleged scheme.
The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing and that analysis of the evidence collected "could lead to additional arrests and the laying of charges." Investigators have not disclosed how the employees allegedly gained access to secure areas of the airport.
Previously, another Air Canada employee was charged after an investigation into an alleged attempt to export approximately 66 kilograms of cannabis from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Also, a former Air Canada captain was charged with fraud after allegedly piloting more than 900 flights without the licence required to command the aircraft.
Information about the illegal activities
The RCMP is asking anyone with information about the illegal activities of individuals or groups involved to contact the force or their local police department. No further arrests had been announced as of publication.
Air Canada had not issued a separate public statement on the arrests as of the RCMP's release. The airline's role in this news release was limited to cooperating with the search of the employees' work base.
The RCMP has not identified the two employees by name, nor specified their exact job titles beyond "ground operations," and has not confirmed what security clearance level their roles carried.
In a statement given to Global News, an Air Canada spokesperson said the company had been "informed of the investigation into two of its employees and their arrest," adding: "We are cooperating fully with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police."
The spokesperson confirmed the two employees "have been suspended during investigations," and said Air Canada would not comment further "out of respect for the ongoing proceedings and our obligations to protect our employees' privacy”.
Pattern of insider risk
Recent developments like the RCMP's Air Canada case are not isolated incidents for HR professionals — they sit inside a documented pattern of insider risk at Canadian transportation hubs, with real legal and financial exposure for employers.
Here are some things HR professionals can do to address the issue, according to separate sources:
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HR Instruction |
Supporting Data |
Source |
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Move from one-time to continuous vetting. Replace pre-hire-only background checks with recurring screening for any role holding restricted-area or high-access credentials, rerunning police and security database checks on a fixed schedule rather than only at hiring. This directly addresses the gap flagged by investigators who found flagged employees retaining clearance for years. |
Canada already runs "perpetual vetting" on all 193,000 workers with restricted-area access at Canadian airports and ports, combining CSIS national security checks with RCMP organized-crime background reports. |
National Post via PressReader, 2016 |
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Audit restricted-access credentials on a fixed cycle. Require joint HR and security/operations sign-off before renewing access for higher-risk roles, and treat credential renewal as a standing agenda item, not a formality. This closes the specific failure pattern experts describe, where flagged employees kept access despite documented concerns. |
A retired RCMP organized crime investigator said he personally encountered employees at Pearson who were investigation targets from 2007–2008 and still held passes and access to prohibited areas years later. |
CTV News/CP24, May 21, 2026 |
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Build and publicize confidential internal reporting channels. Give employees a clear, low-friction, non-punitive way to flag suspicious coworker behaviour, since insider schemes are typically noticed by colleagues long before investigators find them. Pair this with periodic reminders so the channel stays visible, not just a line in the onboarding packet. |
An investigation documented at least 17 cases in one year of innocent passengers' baggage tags being switched onto suitcases filled with drugs, some resulting in detention abroad — a pattern that relies on coworkers not reporting what they see. |
CTV News/CP24, May 22, 2026 |
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Document HR policy and enforcement rigorously. Keep dated records of hiring criteria, supervision practices and conduct-policy enforcement for high-access roles, since Canadian courts assess vicarious liability partly on whether an employer maintained consistent, documented practices. This is a legal risk-management step, not just an HR administrative one. |
The Supreme Court of Canada's Bazley v. Curry test holds employers vicariously liable when an employee's wrongful act is "sufficiently related" to their authorized duties, even if only coincidentally linked to the job. |
LawNow Magazine, Nov. 27, 2018 |
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Prepare an internal communications plan for staff arrests or investigations. Draft a template in advance covering what can legally be said, timing, and who speaks for the company, so employees hear accurate information from HR quickly rather than from media coverage or rumour. This protects morale and limits reputational spillover while legal proceedings are ongoing. |
Employment counsel advise that employers facing vicarious liability exposure should maintain comprehensive, consistently applied HR policies and procedures as part of managing that risk. |
DBH LLP, Aug. 28, 2024 |
