The investigation began July 2 after United States customs officers found the drug-loaded piano, RCMP say.
The RCMP say its investigators took apart a grand piano whose keys couldn’t be used to play any of the classics, finding inside keys of a different kind: nearly 63 kilograms of cocaine.
Police say the search of the piano in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, about 75 kilometres northeast of Montreal, on Friday revealed that the mechanism and strings of the instrument had been replaced by boxes used to store cocaine.
The RCMP say four men were arrested and face charges of importation and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, as well as conspiracy.
Police say the piano was found during an operation that involved searches of two homes and a residential garage in the Lanaudière region, north of the city, and in the Sherbrooke area.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Camille Habel said the investigation began July 2, after United States customs officers found the drug-loaded piano.
“They were the ones who found the drugs in the piano during a random inspection,” she said in an interview. “They found 67 packages that were hidden in the walls of the grand piano and preliminary tests showed the packages contained cocaine.”
Customs allowed the piano through and turned the case over to the RCMP, who followed the drugs to the suspects.
Billy Donais Cadieux, 26, of Saint-Félix-de-Valois; Pablo Hernandez, 52, of Baie-d’Urfé; Michael Dubois, 37, of Saint-Denis-de-Brompton; and Juan Diego Hernandez, 28, of Laval have been detained since they were arrested and are scheduled to return to court on Wednesday.
Police say they also seized $10,000 in cash and several electronic devices.