After a year and four months of investigations, the Nova Scotia branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Buffalo Police in the United States uncovered a drug smuggling network operating across the border in Nova Scotia and the United States. The amount of cocaine seized reached the highest level ever recorded in Western New York.

The American police spokesman Matthew Scarabino stated that the operation, dubbed "Hines," dismantled a drug smuggling route from the United States to Nova Scotia and revealed a cross-border criminal gang. This outcome resulted from close cooperation between all involved agencies.

In the spring of 2022, the Nova Scotia branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discovered a cocaine smuggling gang operating from the United States to four provinces in Eastern Canada and Ontario, and in May of that year, police seized 40 kilograms of cocaine at a border checkpoint in the province, and one suspect was later arrested in Ontario.

As of August of this year, American police arrested a suspect named Ahmed Al-Qadi, who was at that time found with 433 kilograms of cocaine ready to be shipped to Canada; on September 1, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Halifax area searched multiple locations and checked three men. A woman was arrested, and a large amount of cash and drugs was seized.

The operation also involved the Canada Border Services Agency, Fredericton Police Service, and criminal intelligence units in Ontario and Nova Scotia. The investigation is ongoing, and more suspects may be apprehended.