Belanger Ford, a family-run car dealership in Greater Sudbury, helped police stop an international drug smuggling operation.

Provincial Police said Wednesday that employees at the Ford dealership in Chelmsford alerted local police that strange packets were stashed within spare tires, that did not match the make and model of Ford Fusions being shipped.

Employees stumbled upon a shipment of methamphetamine, originating from a car factory in Mexico.

The investigation included OPP detachments in Collingwood and Caledon, as well as help from the Ford Motor Company, that helped police track down the destinations of other Ford vehicles being shipped from the same area.

Alert Ford employees found packets of meth tucked into spare tires. (OPP)

Police said they believe the shipment was part of an operation run by the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, an international organized crime syndicate.

The group controls the area around the Ford manufacturing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.

In total, 180 kilograms of meth was located in vehicles shipped transcontinentally to Canada. OPP estimate the street value around $4.5 million.