More than $65M worth of drugs seized, 20 people arrested following major Ontario bust
A months-long investigation into an organized group that was allegedly involved in a host of criminal enterprises has led to the arrest of 20 people and the seizure of tens of millions of dollars worth of drugs, police say.
The investigation, dubbed "Project Gateway,” began in the fall of 2021 and involved officers from Peel Regional Police, Niagara Regional Police and the Hamilton-Niagara Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In a news release issued on Thursday, police said that through the course of the probe investigators were able to link the group to a host of illegal activity, including smuggling drugs from Mexico and Los Angeles into Canada by transport truck, producing cannabis on a “massive scale,” smuggling people into New York State by boat and employing illegal foreign workers to work at cannabis production sites and to clean chain hotels.
Police say that a number of seizures were made as part of the investigation. One of those seizures saw police recover 45,000 cannabis plants and 20,000 lbs of processed cannabis. The street value of those drugs is estimated at more than $62 million.
Another seizure saw the recovery of a shipment of cannabis that was allegedly destined for Europe. It had a street value of approximately $1.3 million.
Niagara police say that the joint investigation came to a conclusion on Sept. 14 with the execution of a series of search warrants throughout Ontario. The authorities say that 175 police officers from agencies across Southern Ontario and 10 Canada Border Services Agency officers participated in the execution of search warrants in Brampton, Milton, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Woodbridge, Richmond Hill and Hamilton.
“The cooperation that we have seen throughout this project has been nothing short of remarkable,” Staff Sgt. Matt Hodges, from the Niagara Regional Police Service, said in a video posted to YouTube. “Police agencies from across the province really came together at different stages to react to the flow of evidence and our investigative steps. Without their assistance and cooperation there is no way this project would have even been as close to as successful as I think it was.”
Police say that a quantity of drugs were seized during the execution of search warrants on Sept. 14, as well as three handguns, two shotguns, a rifle, 1,650 rounds of ammunition, six stolen vehicles and $467,000 in cash.
The 20 individuals taken into custody are facing more than 120 charges combined.
“Our goal at the beginning of this was to dismantle and disrupt this organized group and put an end to the behaviour and the scheming that was happening that ultimately leads to violence in our communities, not just here in Niagara but in all the other jurisdictions,” Hodges said. “I think that this project is going to have a profound impact all across the country.”
For a full list of the suspects taken into custody and the charges they are facing follow this link.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.