Three women have been charged with drug trafficking after authorities in Winnipeg discovered heroin stashed inside two separate board game boxes being shipped by courier.

Canada Border Services Agency officers made the discoveries last Tuesday at the Winnipeg airport cargo terminal as they searched two courier shipments from the United Kingdom.

Inside the shipments, officers found two gift-wrapped Monopoly games containing two kilograms of heroin.

Police said the drugs, which have been turned over to the RCMP, would be worth about $250,000 on the street.

"It was shocking because it's not something we've run into here in Winnipeg, in the recent past anyway," said CBSA officer Barry Lutz.

"I've been the chief at the airport for the past 13 years we have not seen heroin in that quantity."

The packages were destined for separate addresses in the city and surrounding area.

Three women in their late 20s — including one from Winnipeg and another from Stony Mountain — have been charged with drug and trafficking offences. The other woman accused is from Surrey, B.C.

As part of the investigation, an additional two kilograms of heroin were seized in the United States.

Police say those drugs weren't intended for Manitoba.