On 22 February 1994, HMCS TERRA NOVA stopped the MV Pacifico, when the ship was boarded the authorities found its cargo hold filled with 5,385 kilograms of cocaine. With a street value of between 1 to 2 billion dollars, this is the single largest drug bust in Canadian history![1]

The story begins two years before with a police undercover operation. The intelligence gathered eventually led to the sailing of a ship from Venezuela.[2] The name marked on the ship’s hull was Pacifico and its papers stated the ship carried a load of coiled steel for a New England port. The ship’s documents were false as the true name of the vessel was MV Eve Pacific, registered in Cypress and although she was carrying a load of steel coil, there was a much larger cargo hidden inside the ships holds, destined for an unidentified port in Quebec..[3]

As the Pacifico travelled north it was shadowed by five Canadian Armed Forces Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. In addition to the RCMP, members of the Canadian Coast Guard, Fisheries Protection Services, Canadian Armed Forces and Customs and Immigration and three provincial/municipal police services were involved.[4]

When the Pacifico reached Canada’s eastern seaboard the Aurora aircraft witnessed a small fishing vessel rendezvous with the ship and cargo was transferred from the Pacifico to the FV Lady Teri-Anne on 21 February. Surprisingly the North Atlantic was unusually calm for winter and the cargo was easily moved between the two vessels.[5]

The 12 metre Lady Teri-Anne then set course for Shelburne, NS. Waiting for the unsuspecting fishing vessel was a team of 30 officers from the RCMP, CCG and Fisheries,[6] seizing the Lady Teri-Anne and arresting the crew as soon as its lines were secure to the jetty.[7]

HMCS TERRA NOVA was on a training exercise off the Nova Scotia coast and Commander Richard Malcolm Williams, Commanding Officer,[8] received orders to return to Halifax at best possible speed to embark an armed party of 16 commando trained RCMP officers.[9]  By the afternoon of 22 February, TERRA NOVA was closing on the location of the Pacifico, still under surveillance by the RCAF Aurora patrol aircraft.

HMCS TERRA NOVA

The master of the freighter Captain Jurgen Kirchoff of Germany was surprised when suddenly his ship was being hailed by the Canadian Navy to stop his vessel and prepare to be boarded.[10] Kirchoff ignored TERRA NOVA’s radio call and increased speed in an attempt to outrun the destroyer.

TERRA NOVA had recently returned from the Persian Gulf and had an increased weapons systems aboard, when they met up with the 100 metre Pacifico about 100 kilometers from Shelburne, NS.[11] Kirchoff continued to ignore TERRA NOVA’s radio messages.

TERRA NOVA was prepared to fire on MV Pacifico!

When TERRA NOVA had closed with the Pacifico to less than a kilometre, Cdr Williams radioed that he was prepared to fire across the freighters bow. Kirchoff seeing the destroyer’s weapons aimed at his ship; finally radioed he would comply, stopped his engines and readied to receive the boarding party.[12]

With the Pacifico now stopped, TERRA NOVA transferred the armed RCMP boarding party to the freighter. Once aboard they seized the ship and ordered Kirchoff to set course for Halifax. TERRA NOVA continued to escort the ship until it was secured to the jetty at Shearwater where a team of RCMP and Customs officials were waiting.[13] Captain Kirchoff and his 14 crew, including two women were taken into custody.[14]

On inspection of Pacifico and Lady Teri-Anne, 5385 Kilograms of cocaine were seized. This is the largest single drug bust in Canadian history to this day! The next largest drug seizure was in November 1992, when a plane landed at Casey, QC with 4.3 tonnes of cocaine as cargo.[15]

In total nine people were charged, including 4 from New Brunswick and four from Montreal. The men from Montreal also had ties to organized crime.[16] Jurgen Kirchoff, the captain and believed owner of the Pacifico was the ninth person charged.[17]

The 14 crew members of Pacifico were released without charges and abandoned by the ship owner in Canada according to the sailor’s aid group, Missions to Seaman in Halifax. Captain Kirchoff refused to provide his crew with money to pay for expenses in Halifax and provide finances to return to their respective homes in Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. Kirchoff stating, “The Canadian Government illegally seized his ship and detained his crew. It is up to the government to look after them.”[18]

“The crew of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Margaret Brooke pose for a group photo to document the ship’s first interdiction of illicit trafficking during Operation CARIBBE on 7 February 2024, in the Caribbean Sea. Credit: Canadian Armed Forces Photo.

Drug interdiction continues to be one of the missions of the RCN, wherever our sailors and ships are deployed. Since 2006 the Canadian Armed Forces have participated in OpCARIBBE, deploying CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft and ships to the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. This has included destroyers, frigates, maritime coastal defense vessels, arctic and offshore patrol ships and submarines.

In total over 123 metric tonnes of cocaine and other illegal drugs has been seized in the past seventeen years by our Royal Canadian Navy![19]

If you enjoy the content I create and find value in the articles on this website, please feel free to click on the coffee icon on the bottom right of the webpage and “Buy me a Coffee!” Your contribution will ensure that I can continue to provide the stories of these incredible Canadians and the Canadian Navy. Thank you for your support. Cheers, Roger

Additional Reading:

Government of Canada, Operation CARIBBE

For Posterity’s Sake, HMCS TERRA NOVA

References

[1] “Seized Cocaine Worth Up To $2 Billion,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John, NB. 26 February 1994. P. 1.
[2] “Cocaine,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John. NB. 26 February 1994. p. 4.
[3] “Cocaine Motherload Seized,” The Standard, St. Catharines, Ontario. 24 February 1994. p. 5.
[4] “Cocaine,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John. NB. 26 February 1994. p. 4.
[5] “Drug Bust Full of Surprises for Both Smugglers, RCMP'” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON. 25 February 1994. p. 4.
[6] “Cocaine,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John. NB. 26 February 1994. p. 4.
[7] “Drug Bust Full of Surprises for Both Smugglers, RCMP'” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON. 25 February 1994. p. 4.
[8] For Posterity’s Sake. “HMCS TERRA NOVA”. Commanding Officers. Retrieved 21 February 2026. https://www.forposterityssake.ca/Navy/HMCS_TERRA_NOVA_259.htm
[9] “Cocaine,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John. NB. 26 February 1994. p. 4.
[10] “Captain Won’t Send Crew Home After Ship Seized for Smuggling,” The Sault Star, Sault Ste. Marie, ON. 3 March 1994. p. 16.
[11] “Cocaine Motherload Seized,” The Standard, St. Catharines, Ontario. 24 February 1994. p. 5.
[12] “Drug Bust Full of Surprises for Both Smugglers, RCMP'” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON. 25 February 1994. p. 4.
[13] “Cocaine Motherload Seized,” The Standard, St. Catharines, Ontario. 24 February 1994. p. 5.
[14] “Drug Bust Full of Surprises for Both Smugglers, RCMP'” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON. 25 February 1994. p. 4.
[15] “Cocaine Motherload Seized,” The Standard, St. Catharines, Ontario. 24 February 1994. p. 5.
[16] “Seized Cocaine Worth Up To $2 Billion,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John, NB. 26 February 1994. P. 1.
[17] “Cocaine,” Telegraph-Journal, Saint John. NB. 26 February 1994. p. 4.
[18] “Captain Won’t Send Crew Home After Ship Seized for Smuggling,” The Sault Star, Sault Ste. Marie, ON. 3 March 1994. p. 16.
[19] Government of Canada. Current Operations. “Operation CARIBBE”. Retrieved 21 February 2026. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-caribbe.html