A judge in Hamilton court on Thursday found Joe and Erika Costa, owners of Costa Wine Country, and food wholesaler Tullio Dintino, not guilty on cocaine-trafficking charges

The case centred on 100 kg of cocaine that was dissolved in a shipment of pineapple juice from Costa Rica that was received by the Costas on behalf of Dintino through their wine business on Cannon Street East. The charges were laid in December of 2015.

We were always trying to help a friend, and nothing more. - Joe Costa, found not guilty Thursday

Though the cocaine was detected in the shipment, Ontario Court Justice Martha Zivolak concluded after the trial, that the three accused did not know there was anything but pineapple juice in the shipment.

When she announced them not guilty, the Costas burst into tears and more than two dozen supporters in the courtroom applauded.

Outside court, Joe Costa teared up again as he described his position.

"We were always trying to help a friend, and nothing more," he said.

"And here we were stuck in the middle of something that we had no idea all about. We were in shock when this all happened because we're honest people, hard-working people."

No one sends $6M in cocaine without someone expecting it

Zivolak said the Crown was working from a logical premise: No one sends this much cocaine – worth about $6 million in Canadian dollars – dissolved in pineapple juice to another country without some expectation that someone is expecting it.

"But where is the evidence that these defendants were the ones expecting it?" she said.

She said the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Dintino or the Costas knew the contents were more than just pineapple juice.

Moreover, Zivolak said she believed the Costas, both of whom testified on their own behalf. She said she had no reason to disbelieve that the couple was just "helping a friend import some juice."

More than 1,000 boxes of pineapple juice

The shipment in question brought a total of 1,128 boxes, each containing four jugs of pineapple juice, from Costa Rica. There was nothing on the outside of the boxes that would distinguish one box from another – a fact which the prosecution had called "a complete red herring" earlier in the case, Zivolak said.

We were in shock when this all happened because we're honest people, hard-working people. - Joe Costa

But the RCMP moved to arrest the Costas and Dintino before the boxes had been unpacked and anything had been done with the juice, tainted or otherwise.

They didn't present evidence that Dintino or anyone involved had the materials necessary to extract the cocaine from the juice.

RCMP arrested and charged three people with trafficking in December 2015, including Costa's Wine Country owners Joe and Erika Costa. (YouTube)

The Costas had agreed to import the pineapple juice for Dintino, who'd worked with Joe Costa years ago, as he did not have his own importer's licence.

Though it meant more work for Erika, who handled the administrative side of the business, she reluctantly agreed as her husband had offered the favour.

Joe Costa said the couple and Dintino were never that close, but that they won't have a relationship going forward.

'Your innocence is so important'

After court, Dintino declined to comment. His lawyer, Jaime Stephenson, said he was "just happy to have it over with" and to "be able to move ahead with his life."

Erika Costa said the couple's business had been affected while they were on trial, especially on their wholesale side, as their shipments to and from other countries were searched and held up at the border every time.

"You know, the saying that you're innocent until proven guilty, it doesn't stand. Believe me, I know first-hand. As soon as we were released from jail when we were taken in, some people's reactions changed about us," she said.

"Your innocence is so important. You don't appreciate it until it's taken away from you. We're glad we got it back."

kelly.bennett@cbc.ca