23 arrested, over $8M in drugs and guns seized in OPP’s Project Moffatt
Posted August 9, 2023 1:12 pm.
Last Updated August 9, 2023 6:59 pm.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they teamed up with York, Peel, Barrie and Ottawa police to take a “shocking” amount of drugs and guns off the streets after a four-month investigation into several interconnected criminal networks.
Project Moffatt began in April and resulted in the arrests of 23 people who are facing a total of 387 charges.
The street value of seized guns and drugs exceeds $8 million, the OPP said in an update on Wednesday.
The probe led to search warrants being executed at 14 locations across Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
OPP Chief Supt. Paul Mackey said the suspects put “countless lives at risk” peddling guns and deadly drugs like fentanyl, calling the seizures “nothing short of shocking.”
“You are not welcome in our communities,” he said. “We will investigate you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
OPP Det. Insp. Lee Fulford said the investigation revealed three criminal networks working together in gun and drug sales.
$8 million worth of illicit drugs and illegal firearms seized by #OPP and partners after search warrants were executed at 14 locations across Ontario. 23 accused are facing 387 charges. https://t.co/DID24uEA0J
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) August 9, 2023
Police say they seized 12 kilograms of fentanyl, 25 kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of crystal meth, and 260,000 methamphetamine tablets.
He also alleged the groups, which are based in the GTA and have ties to street gangs, conspired to smuggle guns into Canada from the United States.
Twenty-nine guns were seized during the raids. Fulford said that they were all compact handguns, many with overcapacity magazines.
The search warrants were executed on July 18 and 19 at various locations — including two correctional facilities.
Fulford said police searched Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton and Collins Bay Institution in Kingston in connection to three suspects who were allegedly involved in planning the alleged crimes while behind bars.
