Thirty-three kilograms of cocaine were found in a little girl's suitcase as she travelled with her parents and sister from Puerto Plata to Toronto.

Thirty-three kilograms of cocaine were found in a little girl's suitcase as she travelled with her parents and sister from Puerto Plata to Toronto.

The discovery led to 12 soldiers in the Dominican Republic being arrested after investigators alleged they used the girl to smuggle the drugs into Canada.

Ironically, the accused soldiers were assigned to combat drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic, with eight of them working for the national anti-drug agency at the airport in Puerto Plata.

All of the suspects have been held on drug smuggling charges while the investigation proceeds.

The little girl's parents, who investigators suspected of working with the smugglers, were not arrested, although more charges could be pending.