The Ontario Provincial Police have charged three men from the GTA in connection with their largest single drug bust in history.
Investigators say 1,062 kilograms of pure cocaine – estimated to be worth $60 million at wholesale value and approximately $250 million in street value – was seized in an investigation that began in March.
The investigation was dubbed “Project Hope.”
Speaking at a news conference held at OPP headquarters Monday, Deputy Commissioner Rick Barnum told reporters that the three individuals from the GTA are allegedly responsible for importing “enormous” quantities of cocaine from Argentina to Canada.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in a single seizure before,” he said. “They were linked to cocaine being transported on ocean-going vessels in shipping containers to the Port of Montreal for distribution in Ontario and throughout Canada.”
“We believe this cocaine was not solely destined for Ontario, that it had cross-Canada marketplace.”
OPP investigators say bricks of cocaine were embedded into stone and shipped on vessels across Canada. (Ontario Provincial Police handout)
Investigators don’t believe the cocaine was produced in Argentina but instead used as a “transportation link” to other countries.
While they couldn’t determine the exact source of the cocaine, Barnum said that there’s a “definite” link to Mexico.
“It’s fair to say that we’re not dealing with a half-ounce of cocaine we’re dealing with 1000 kilos,” he said. “When you’re dealing with that level and making seizures of that size, it’s definitely related to cartels and serious, serious crime groups.”
Officials said this seizure was conducted by the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and the Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau. As well, the Canada Border Services Agency, Peel Regional Police and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in this investigation.
Hock said the successful investigation has emboldened relationships between law enforcement officials at both the federal and municipal level, calling the partnership “necessary in today’s environment.”
Speaking about the seizure, OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes said this cocaine – which was tested to be 97 per cent pure – being seized is helping to keep criminal activity out of Canadian communities.
Cocaine sold by street-level drug dealers typically ranges between 30 and 40 per cent purity, they said.
“With the amount of pure cocaine seized during project hope, we’ve stopped many criminals from causing more harm to our communities while removing a quarter of a billion dollars from the criminal economy,” Hawkes said.
“This cocaine was headed to distributors and community-level drug dealers and ultimately would have ended up in our communities and communities across the country. The distribution and sale cycle would see this cocaine cut many times for street-level dealers.”
A map showing the route and distance the cocaine was likely shipped. (Ontario Provincial Police handout)
The OPP’s investigation ultimately ended in July after they made their final two arrests in the drug bust.
On May 1, two of the three suspects were arrested during a traffic stop on Highway 410.
Vaughan-resident Luis Enrique Karim-Altamirano, 52, was arrested during this traffic stop. He is now facing charges including importation and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking and driving while disqualified.
Karim-Altamirano is currently in police custody and is scheduled to attend a bail hearing on Wednesday.
During the same traffic stop, 45-year-old Mauricio Antonio Medina-Gatica, of Toronto, was arrested. He is also facing charges of importation and possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking. He has been released on bail.
Following these arrests, Toronto resident Iban Orozco-Lomeli, 45, was charged on July 10 with the same charges as Medina-Gatica. He was as well released on bail.
None of these charges have been proven in court.
The next court appearances for Medina-Gatica and Orozco-Lomeli are not yet known.
“Individuals who participate in organized crime groups don’t care about your safety they don’t care about the vibrancy of our communities. They don’t’ care about anything except their ability to make money and gain from the profits,” Barnum said.
“They’re greedy individuals who care about making money and strictly lining their own pockets. We’re already mourning too many lost lives due to addictions fueled by access to prescription medications and other illicit drugs.”
