Vehicles with hidden compartments were used to transport cocaine across provincial borders: police

A secret compartment in a vehicle seized by police as part of a drug trafficking investigation is shown. (Halton Regional Police Service)

Halton police have arrested four people and seized millions of dollars worth of cocaine following an investigation into the alleged trafficking of drugs between Ontario and Western Canada.

Police say that officers began an investigation into the operation sometime in the summer.

That investigation, dubbed ‘Project Atlas,’ then led to the execution of eight search warrants in the Toronto area on Aug 24 and 25.

Police say that a total of 126 kilograms of cocaine was seized as a result, as well as more than $1.2 million in Canadian currency and three vehicles.

Images of those vehicles shared by police show multiple secret compartments where it is alleged that contraband was stashed. In one of the images, bags stuffed with $20 bills are seen in a compartment underneath the floor of the vehicle.

“In order to facilitate the movement of drugs and money crime vehicles were equipped with sophisticated hydraulic trap systems,” Det. Sgt. Barrett Gabriel explained in a video update. “Loads of drugs and money could then be transported covertly between destinations and were believed to be tracked using secreted GPS tracking devices.”

Gabriel said that the wholesale value of the seized drugs is about $3.1 million, though he suggested that the street value of that amount of cocaine could exceed $10 million.

He said that the months-long investigation is “one of many recent examples that drug trafficking knows no jurisdictional boundaries.”

The four suspects taken into custody are facing a combined 13 charges, according to police.

For a full list of the suspects and the charges they are facing follow this link.