York Regional Police have charged 19 people and seized more than $500,000 worth of cocaine following a year-long drug and gun investigation dubbed “Project Tugboat.”

In a news conference on Friday, police revealed that they conducted a series of pre-dawn raids across the GTA earlier this week, seizing over 340 grams of harvested marijuana, 98 MDMA pills, a quantity of oxycodone and over $76,000 in cash.

Officials say they also found 13 kilograms of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $520,000, hidden inside a barrel at a Mississauga body shop and four kilograms of opium from a home in Richmond Hill.

Police also recovered several firearms which they believe were trafficked from the Toronto area to Hamilton.

“Five restricted firearms or handguns were seized, four assault rifles and a shotgun along with a large quantity of ammunition for those various weapons,” Det. Sgt. Duncan MacIntyre said at the conference.

“When we find guns, drugs and cash together, it’s a recipe for activity that we can’t ignore,” said Superintendent Bill Sadler.

Police say one of the guns was allegedly found hidden between two mattresses.

Another loaded firearm was found sitting on the bedside table at the home of suspect Antonio Bumbaca. Police say two young children were also living in the home at the time.

Bumbaca is now facing several gun charges.

Police also arrested Richmond Hill body shop owner Ertug “Tuggy” Direkoglu, who is believed to be the brains behind the guns and drug trafficking operation.

Direkoglu, who is already under a gun ban as a result of a previous robbery conviction, was also running a fake collision scam through his Richmond Hill auto body shop according to police.

Police say the expansive investigation reached areas of Hamilton, the province of Quebec and as far as the state of New Jersey.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry