A man whose arrest resulted in the Abbotsford Police Department's largest ever cocaine seizure pleaded guilty on Friday in Abbotsford provincial court.
Matthew Stamper, 24, pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking for the 60 kilograms of cocaine he was carrying on Feb. 2.
Two officers in separate cars were driving in the 2000 block of Clearbrook Road – near Highway 1 – when they spotted Stamper standing in a parking lot beside two duffel bags. The officers thought he looked nervous, as he kept picking up and putting down the bags.
The officers approached Stamper and discovered that the bags were padlocked, and he wasn't giving any clear answers about what was in them.
A search of the bags revealed that they contained a total of 60 kilos of cocaine, worth an estimated street value of between $1.2 and $1.8 million.
At the time of the arrest, police said they believed Stamper had been waiting for a ride and, because of his proximity to the freeway, was likely headed out of Abbotsford.
This is Stamper's only criminal conviction, according to the provincial court database.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 2 for a sentencing hearing.