9 arrested, $13M worth of drugs seized after Toronto search warrants: OPP
Posted March 13, 2024 2:04 pm.
Last Updated March 13, 2024 2:08 pm.
The surveillance of two suspected drug dealers in Barrie ultimately led Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to a sophisticated criminal network that was moving millions of dollars worth of crystal meth and cocaine, police said in a release Wednesday.
Investigators say Project Cranium began in the fall of 2023, when police learned of two people dealing drugs in Barrie.
“Further investigation revealed that a sophisticated criminal network was operating out of the Greater Toronto Area, Simcoe County and Durham Region,” an OPP release stated.
Police say the drugs were being purchased from a source supplier and made their way down the chain to lower level dealers.
On January 21, 2024, the OPP executed 16 search warrants in Toronto at residences, vehicles, and one storage locker seizing an estimated $13 million worth of illegal drugs as well as more than half-a-million in cash and two illegal guns.
Nine people were arrested. They face a total of 44 charges.
Police allegedly seized the following:
• 173 kilograms of suspected crystal methamphetamine;
• 56 kilograms of suspected cocaine;
• 500 grams of suspected fentanyl;
• two prohibited handguns, one of which was loaded;
• ammunition;
• more than $620,000 in Canadian currency;
• evidence of drug production (e.g. two cocaine presses, etc.); and,
• four vehicles.
The OPP’s Paul Mackey said the sheer amount of methamphetamine was especially concerning, noting that the drug is manufactured locally in dangerous labs.
“These labs are a risk to our public health and pose serious environmental hazards,” he said.
