4 men charged after $2.4M, 205 kilos of marijuana seized in Toronto
Posted February 24, 2014 1:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Four men face multiple charges after Toronto’s drug squad seized 205 kilograms of marijuana and $2.4 million in cash during a year-long investigation dubbed Project Green Giant.
Staff Insp. Randy Franks said Monday police were tipped off early last year after a courier company discovered that drugs were being shipped using its service in plain cardboard boxes from British Columbia to Toronto.
That’s when police seized the initial 138 kilograms of pot and identified their main suspect.
In December, police carried out several search warrants of three security deposits at two banks, a commercial unit in Rexdale, a storage locker in Vaughan and a vehicle.
About $1.95 million mostly in Canadian $50s and $100s were seized as well as American money, euros and British pounds. Another 67 kilograms of marijuana and three kilograms of hashish were found at the industrial unit where police say a large-scale drug lab was located.
Seven people were arrested at the alleged drug lab last Thursday but only four were charged with criminal offences.
They include Nitesh Tailor, 35, of Toronto; Antonio Sergi, 50, of Brampton; Edward Vaserbakh, 35, of Toronto; and Justin Young, 31, of Toronto.
All made court appearances on Friday.
Franks said there has always been a marijuana drug trade from B.C.
“It’s been ongoing and it probably will continue,” said Franks, who was involved in the seizure of a ton of so-called B.C. bud 15 years ago. “We do our best to disrupt and this is a significant disruption.”
