INUVIK - Inuvik RCMP scored its biggest crack cocaine bust ever after officers seized a shipment of the drug hidden in a tractor-trailer they say was en route to Alforno restaurant on June 8.

Local RCMP officers leave Alforno restaurant on the evening of June 8. The establishment was the focus of a drug investigation. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

"It would be fair to say that the amount seized is a record in this area as far as I know," said Cpl. Sean Doornbos.

Doornbos said the drugs were found hidden among pallets of groceries marked for the restaurant, formerly known as Fast Food Cafe. The truck travelling from Edmonton was filled with cargo, also for other businesses in town at the time of the search, which lasted from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

No charges were laid as of press deadline.

The bust was a result of tips from the public over the past several weeks that indicated which transport truck would be carrying the drugs.

Police contacted the local trucking company to confirm that one of its trucks was carrying cargo destined for the restaurant.

This is the second time in less than a year that the Mackenzie Road restaurant has been faced with a drug investigation.

Last July RCMP confiscated an unknown quantity of crack cocaine at the site and charged Talal Khatib, the former owner of the restaurant, with drug possession. But those charges were stayed last February.

Doornbos said the investigation is ongoing,