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TORONTO — The RCMP says a massive shipment of hash, disguised as “specially formulated” chocolate drink flavouring and hidden in hollowed-out particle board before being shipped out of Afghanistan for Toronto, likely would have seen profits returned to the troubled region to fund militants if not for an international police effort.

Five men — four Canadians and a Dutch national — were arrested in Toronto when they tried to pick up the 500 wood boards from the sea container. Another man was arrested earlier in the Republic of Tajikistan, where the load was first discovered before its wending, international journey.

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To the shock of the men in Canada, police say, most of the expected cargo — 5.7 tonnes of hash, with an estimated street value of $69-million— had not even made it out of Asia.

After the load was discovered in the mountainous country of Tajikistan, one of the former Soviet republics that shares a border with Afghanistan, local police contacted the RCMP, starting a complicated international effort, said RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson.