Network smuggling guns into Canada from U.S. dismantled: York police
Posted August 10, 2022 11:10 am.
Last Updated August 10, 2022 12:08 pm.
York regional police say they’ve dismantled a criminal network that was smuggling guns from the United States into Canada and dealing copious amounts of drugs.
Twenty-two people are facing more than 400 charges in what police have dubbed Project Monarch — a 10-month joint-forces investigation.
The probe began in October 2021 when police began looking into an individual suspected of dealing drugs. Soon, more suspects in the Brampton and London areas were identified. Police say they were part of a network dealing cocaine, fentanyl and guns.
“As the operation evolved, investigators identified suspects who are accused of illicitly importing firearms from the United States into Canada,” York regional police said in a release. “Investigators believe that some of the illegal firearms were brought through Walpole Island First Nation on the border of Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan.”
On July 28, 2022 police executed search warrants at 22 homes, two businesses and 19 vehicles in Brampton, Toronto and London.
Police allege drugs with a street value of more than $1.3 million were seized, along with 27 handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
“Investigators also seized $155,242 in Canadian currency and $9,000 in United States currency, as well as five vehicles as proceeds of crime,” police said.
