A man from British Columbia was sentenced to several years in prison after importing opium from abroad into Canada.

The Canadian police said in a press release on Friday that the man was sentenced last month to three years in prison after being convicted.

According to Montez, the Canadian man was sentenced at the end of April for his role in importing two kilograms of opium.

The investigation began in 2017, when Mounties in British Columbia initiated an investigation with authorities in Germany into a drug import operation.

The investigation started with the arrest of the German Federal Police "Hamid Nemati Shirazi," who was detained on drug trafficking charges.

After his arrest, German federal authorities said they found details of a shipment of a parcel believed to contain opium, and contacted the Canadian police regarding the package shipped to Canada.

The parcel was supposed to be sent to Coquitlam, British Columbia, but it was intercepted in Toronto by Mounties and members of the Canada Border Services Agency, who had been informed and were expecting it.

Mounties say the package contained a speaker, with opium hidden inside. Photos released by the RCMP show that the box was covered with wrapping paper with red heart shapes, making it look like a gift rather than a drug shipment.

The speaker does not appear to have been the only way opium was hidden and then shipped to Canada.

Through the investigation, police identified the Canadian suspect, "Hamid Modrek Najaf Abadi," and during a search of his home found cash and hollow water pumps. According to the police, these pumps matched previous opium shipments under investigation in Germany.

"Modrek Najaf Abadi" was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking opium, as well as importing a controlled substance.

He was then sentenced on April 29. In addition to the prison sentence, he was ordered to provide his DNA to authorities and was banned from possessing weapons.

A German court also sentenced "Nemati Shirazi" to 5 years in prison and confiscated $75,400 from his personal assets.

The Canadian police said in a press release: "According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the world's main opium producers, including Afghanistan and Myanmar, increased production, with the opium crop in Afghanistan rising to 6,800 tons in 2021."

Synthetic opium, fentanyl. In British Columbia, specialized teams in organized crime groups are tasked with targeting those whose criminal activities affect Canada.

These investigations are complex and time-consuming, often involving partners both in Canada and around the world.

As for why this particular case took so long to be resolved in the legal system, Canadian police provided some reasons.

There was a preliminary hearing in 2018, but the first trial scheduled in 2019 was postponed by the defense for health reasons.

It was supposed to return to court in February 2020, but there were health concerns again, followed by court closures due to the pandemic.

The trial was heard in March of last year, Modrek Najaf Abadi was convicted in June, then the sentencing was delayed due to a change of lawyers.